Bang the drum slowly
by ShadowDragon53
Summary: When a near tragedy occurs, Tenchi and Ryoko must learn what it takes to endure...
1. Walking into the fire

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo and the characters in it belong to AIC and Pioneer Corp. No profit is being made from this fanfic.

Authors notes: After months of writers block, I've come up with this story. I have a basic plot outline in my mind, but many of the details still need filling in, so there might be times where I don't update for awhile. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this story, I can never tell if anything I write is any good so I'd appreciate some feedback.

**Bang the drum slowly**

Chapter 1: Walking into the fire

  


"What have I gotten myself into?"

While those words had been muttered many a time by one Tenchi Masaki, they nevertheless seemed quite appropriate as he stood outside his home, nearly buried under a mass of suitcases. The cause of his predicament was, not surprisingly, the result of his homes many female residents. During Tenchi's summer vacation from school, the ladies had decided it would be fun to all go to the Startica festival on the planet Jurai.

_Well, Ayeka wanted to take me there, and of course Ryoko immediately decided that she would need to accompany me, Mihoshi then chose to use some sick days she had accumulated, and Washu realized how long it had been since she had seen the festival. Of course nobody really cared to ask if _I _wanted to go, they all just sort of decided on it. All I wanted was a normal relaxing summer, and I just _know _that this little 'vacation' is gonna end up giving me a headache. Heck, it's already giving me a backache..._

"Say Ryoko, could you maybe give me a hand with these?" Tenchi's muffled voice pleaded when he spotted the golden eyed girl slowly float by.

"I am helping Tenchi, see?" she answered while holding out a small box with the words 'Fragile! Handle with care!' stamped onto it.

Tenchi frowned while looking at her box. "What's in that thing?"

"The Sake of course." she said cheerily before flying off to the shore of the lake.

"Figures." he mumbled before staggering forward.

First princess Ayeka demurely strode out of the house, with her hands clasped in front of her when she spotted Tenchi. "Oh hello Tenchi, I'm glad I found you, there are a few more items of luggage you'll need to bring out." A strangled groan was the only reply Ayeka received.

"Don't worry Tenchi, I got them." Sasami reassured him while trotting out towards the lake with a few suitcases in hand, with the cabbit Ryo-ohki bounding along behind her.

"Thanks Sasami." a grateful Tenchi sighed.

"Come on! We haven't got all day." Washu's nasal voice called out.

Mustering up his reserves of strength he finally arrived to where the others were waiting. Letting out a relieved grunt, he set down the luggage and rubbed his back while glancing around. Tenchi's father was too busy with work and wouldn't be able to come with them, and his grandfather was adament about not wanting to return to Jurai, even for a short time, however he was there to see them all off.

"Grandfather, I'm sorry I wont be able to help out around the shrine." Tenchi said apologetically.

Katsuhito waved his hand dismissively. "Quite alright, I'll manage. I wish you safe passage, Tenchi." turning to his half sister, Ayeka, he leveled his normal calm gaze at her, "Give mother my greetings and well wishes."

"Of course, take care brother." Ayeka said while giving a short bow, which he returned in kind.

Washu summoned up her holo top computer and punched in a few keys. "Alright, let's get this show on the road."

And with that, a hole opened up above the lake and Mihoshi's ship, the Yukinojo, emerged in all its glory. The group had decided to use the galaxy police officers ship to avoid causing the stir that would result from flying the notorious Ryo-ohki. Tenchi had wondered how Ryoko would be received on Jurai, where she had wreaked havoc some 700 years. She assured him that she would keep a 'Low profile.' but he had his doubts about how well that would work.

Taking a look to his right he spotted the violet haired princess who had spawned this idea for a trip to Jurai. He had confessed to her that he really didn't want to have to deal with the galactic press hounding him, seeing how he was Yosho's decendant and crown prince. His fears were partly put to rest when she stated that the general populace of Jurai had no idea he even existed, and that his identity would be kept a secret during his stay on the planet.

Though he still harbored worries, he didn't have any further time to mull on them as the Yukinojo began to beam everyone onboard. Blinking a few times to recover from the slightly disorienting sensation, he looked around the main cabin of the vessel, a fairly modest setting with a small table and some emerald colored cushions around it. The ship wasn't designed to house six people plus a cabbit, so they were bound to be a little cramped on this trip.

Mihoshi's bubbly voice crackled over the intercom from the cockpit, "Ok everyone, we're off to Jurai! I can't wait to go to the Startica festival, I mean there's so much see there, with the lights, the fireworks, the dancing...and the food! You know I hear they have all sorts of flavors of..." the message was abruptly cut off, thanks to Washu and her holo top computer. "Maybe we can finally relax now." she muttered under her breath.

  


***

  


Having set which course for the GP cruiser to take, Mihoshi joined the others in the 'living room' onboard the vessel. Sasami prepared some tea and everyone gathered round the small table much as they would any normal day back on Earth. Tenchi sat inbetween Ryoko and Ayeka, which would normally mean he'd end up having to scramble away to avoid being caught in the crossfire of their fights. Yet this day however, Tenchi noted that both Ryoko and Ayeka seemed more calm, and neither one had said anything to instigate a battle. Yet as normal, such peaceful moments would not last long...

"You know Ryoko, I was wondering, what will you do on Jurai while the rest of us attend the Startica festivities? You know that if you show up in public you're bound to cause a riot." Ayeka calmy stated while setting down her cup.

Ryoko smirked before answering, "Simple really, I'll just have to disguise myself a bit. A hat to hide my hair, some contacts for my eyes, and I'll be dancing the night away with my Tenchi."

"Just what makes you think he'll be dancing with YOU, hmm?" Ayeka inquired with agitation evident in her voice.

"Well, you know how Tenchi doesn't want the galactic press all over him, and what do you think is gonna happen when the media sees you dragging Tenchi all over the place? They'll be very interested to know who your 'mystery date' is. So, it looks like while you'll be out playing with your mommy and daddy, Tenchi and I will be entertaining ourselves in private." Ryoko began to chuckle as she watched Ayeka turn crimson with rage.

By now Tenchi had slinked away and was looking for some cover to shield himself from the conflict brewing. Mihoshi intervened, trying to be the voice of reason. "Please don't fight, you might damage the ship and then we'll never get to Jurai."

After taking a deep breath, Ayeka saw the logic in Mihoshi's statement. "You're quite right, there's no reason to let some silly remarks lead to violence."

Ryoko snorted while finishing the last of her drink. "Isn't it 'silly remarks' that start all our other fights?"

The princess chose not to reply as she demurely sipped her tea. A thick silence descended as Tenchi wearily slipped back to the table, his eyes nervously checking to make sure no energy blasts would suddenly begin to fly. Sasami broke the tension when she brought up something which had been nagging her for some time. "Say, there's six of us, right? So where are we all gonna sleep?"

"Well....umm..." Mihoshi said thoughtfully.

A sweatdrop formed on Tenchi's head. _Figures. They were so excited about going that they didn't even think about the details._ Washu then spoke up with a solution. "Well, there are two bedrooms, the prison cell, and this room. Now, the cell has a bit of a smell to it, so that's out of the question. So, it looks like Tenchi will get one room, Ayeka and Sasami the other, and Mihoshi and Ryoko will stay out here."

Ryoko blinked a few times. "What about you?" she inquired.

Washu's tone was as flat and serious as she could manage. "I'll be with Tenchi of course."

Tenchi promptly choked on his tea while Ryoko and Ayeka lunged at Washu, the cyan haired pirate managing to grab the pint sized scientist by the collar. "Listen you little pipsqueak, you won't be anywhere near Tenchi's room, got it?" Ryoko hissed into Washu's face.

"Quite right!" Ayeka chimed in.

Washu gave her 'daughter' a dissapproving look. "Such rude manners, Ryoko. Besides, I thought you'd want me to be with Tenchi, that way you could have a little brother or sister." Of course, that comment resulted in some rather heated retorts by the two enraged women.

_Yeah, this trip is gonna be real fun..._ Tenchi thought with a sigh as he tried to block out the firey bickering going on around him.

  


***

  


It was many hours later that the residents onboard the Yukinojo finally turned in to get some sleep. The calm, serene atmosphere was accompanied by the occasional light snoring of some of the ships members. As the residents onboard the Yukinojo slumbered away, a much more violent scene was occuring outside the craft. The galaxy police vessel was currently soaring through a hellacious cloud of dust and debris, tiny specks and sometimes larger chunks of matter whipped all around the ship in a blazing fury. Speck after speck battered the sturdy vessel, while the effects of a lone strike were minimal, the added effect of multiple impacts would be something more.

The nocturnal dreams of the crew were shattered when a shrill beeping sound flooded the cabin and the entire ship lit up with the blood red light of the emergency alarms. Immediately the occupants awoke and tried to make sense of this confusing turn of events, Mihoshi stumbling into the cockpit to find out what was happening.

"What the hell is going on?" a bleary eyed Ryoko muttered as she glanced over at a frazzled looking Tenchi who had just come out of his room.

Before he could reply Washu emerged from her interdimensional subspace laboratory where she had been resting, a stone faced expression evident. "We've got trouble." she murmured under her breath.

In the pilots chambers...

Mihoshi stared pale faced at the moniters around her, sweat beads forming on her forehead. "Ok Yukinojo, what you're saying is..." The digital voice of the ship interrupted the blonde. "That the ship is only 0.236 parsecs from the star known as HSC 034492, which is a class V stellar object, otherwise know as a 'black hole'. Now normally such distances are within nominal operating ranges for a galaxy police cruiser of this nature, however the ship has sustained an uncontained failure of the hyper-ion cooling systems, leading to a serious decline in engine efficiency."

Tenchi and the others had entered the cockpit a moment earlier and had picked up most of what Yukinojo had said, the serious expressions they held were testimony to that. Mihoshi gave a quick glance behind her before turning once more and examing the readouts in front of her. "Yukinojo, what will be result of this?"

"The ship is being pulled into the gravatational vortex of the black hole at an ever increasing pace." it quickly replied.

Mihoshi gulped before speaking up again, "Our engine efficiency is only at 16 percent, what would be required to get to escape velocity?"

"Currently 83.389 percent, though that figure will rise as we are pulled at an accellerating velocity towards the black hole."

Mihoshi's blue eyes widened further as she began to piece together the seriousness of the situation. "W-What's the best course of action?" she asked with a faltering tone.

"Immediate repairs to the hyper-ion cooling pipelines, however they are on the exterior of the vessel, and due to the extreme intensity of which the ship is being bombarded by debris, such repairs are impossible."

A silence hung over the group as they processed the situation, the only sound being the occasional pang of another small object striking the craft. Finally it was Sasami, who had been clinging to Ayeka's side, who spoke up, "What're we gonna do?" she asked meekly.

When no response came from anyone in the room, Ryoko crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "I'll fix it, I'm the only one who could go out there." she declared in a stoney manner.

The barest glint of pride flashed through Washu's eyes at that moment, but it went unnoticed as she summoned her computer and her tiny hands went into action typing up a storm. "You'll need a few tools Ryoko, here." she quietly said before a small interdimensional hole appeared and a small box fell out. "It'll be dangerous, you know." she said while handing the item to the cyan haired girl.

"I know." Ryoko said with a grin before taking the metal box and peering inside for a moment. "I know how to use these, it'll be a cinch." she said with her usual bravado.

"Be careful, Ryoko." Tenchi said softly, and a moment later a chorus of well wishes came from the rest of the group.

Ryoko waved her hand dismissively at them. "Don't worry about it. Besides, you think I'm gonna let the princess have Tenchi all to herself at Startica?" and with that she floated up through the roof of the craft.

Sasami gazed up worriedly at her sister, softly asking, "Do you think she'll be alright?"

Ayeka began to stroke Sasami's hair lightly. "I hope so, I hope so." she murmured.

As soon as Ryoko phased outside the ship, she was instantly assaulted with an intense pulling sensation towards where the black hole was. She focused her energy swiftly to keep herself from being sucked into the gravatational vortex and took a look around her. The withering cloud of dust and debris that was also present was making it even difficult to see very far in front of her. _Damn, if we can't get this ship moving soon it'll chip away at the hull until there's nothing left._

Squinting her eyes, she hovered around the ship until she came to the area where the coolant pipes were. Grimacing when she saw the massive puncture holes in it and the fluid being spewed outward, she flew over to begin repairs. Yet she soon discovered one little problem. _Wait a minute, where the heck am I gonna put this toolbox while I fix this thing? It'll get sucked off into that black hole. _Shrugging her shoulders, she stuffed the metal box down the front of her dress after she retrieved the first tool she needed for the job.

  


***

  


Back on the inside of the ship, Tenchi and the others were still in the cockpit, examining the flashing colored readouts on the moniters. "Yukinojo, what's the necessary engine efficiency for escape velocity at now?" Mihoshi asked nervously.

"92.276 percent."

"And what are we at currently?"

"Still at 16.748 percent."

The silence that hung was thick with worry and despair as everyone's mind was scrambling. Tenchi stared at the floor tensely, trying his best to remain calm in the growing crisis, _Come on Ryoko, we're all counting on you._

  


***

  


Gritting her teeth in the face of the furious blast of debris, Ryoko was becoming more and more hard pressed to focus her energy to counter the gravatational pull and continue her repairs. _Ok, just one more sealing agent ought to do it..._ Pulling the final item out of her dress, she also tossed the toolbox into the depths of space, not wanting any distractions while she finishes the repairs. Applying the think gel like substance carefully, she occasionally had to close her eyes as particles of debris hit her in the face. Were she a normal human, she'd be covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises by now, but her regenerative abilities prevented that from occuring.

_Finally! It's done! _she mentally cheered to herself. She grinned widely, showing off her fangs. _I bet Tenchi will be so proud of..._she could think no further as a stray object struck, sending her spiraling away from the ship...

  


***

  


"Mihoshi, our engine efficiency is now rising rapidly, we will be able to achieve escape velocity in 0.452 minutes." Yukinojo said calmy as a collective sigh of relief was heard from the group.

"Well thank goodness Ryoko managed to fix the ship." Ayeka said sincerely.

Tenchi smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, looks like we managed to get out of trouble."

Washu stared ahead with a pale face. "No, we haven't." she said distantly.

The cheery atmosphere evaporated instantly as all eyes turned towards the dimunitive genius. "What do you mean, Washu?" Tenchi asked with growing concern.

"It's Ryoko, something's happened, she's in trouble." she muttered quickly while summoning her holo top computer before her jaw dropped slightly, "She's being pulled into the gravatational vortex of the black hole, and she can't escape it."

Tenchi's face became set with a grim, almost cold determination before he quickly rushed out of the cockpit. "Tenchi, where are you going?" Ayeka called out to him.

Washu's eyes were fixed on the receeding form of Tenchi as she softly spoke, "He's going to try and rescue her, of course."

The doors to the airlock swished open and Tenchi strode in quickly, not paying any attention to his surroundings. Taking a deep breath, he went over some of the many calming excersizes his grandfather had taught him. After what seemed like an eterinity, but was closer to only a few seconds, he searched within himself for the incredible energy he knew he harbored. Finally, he could feel what felt like a glowing ball of warmth, he focused every fiber of his being on it, and like a dam bursting, the warmth exploded, sending a tingling sensation rocketing throughout his entire being.

Opening his eyes he saw the shimmering forms of the light hawk wings in front of him as expected. He raised his arms and at the instant his fingers contacted the wings they began to transform his clothing. He could feel the silky heat of the wings envelope his body as he embraced the power they held, all his senses felt as if they had tripled in intensity in that moment. Closing his eyes, he began to mentally search out for the energy signal of Ryoko, and since she held an incredible amount of power, it wasn't a difficult task. When the final door in the airlock opened, Tenchi paid no heed to the ferocious conditions outside the ship as he glided forward.

  


***

  


Ryoko's eyes blinked rapidly as her disorientation began to fade. Blinded by the cloud of dust and debris all around her, panic flooded throughout her as it occurred to her that she was being sucked into the black hole. She immediately tapped into as much of her power as she could manage, trying to fight the intensity of the gravatational pull, yet she quickly realized it was a losing battle. Her mind scrambled in a wild frenzy as she tried to think of some way out, yet no solutions seemed available to her. As has happened before to her, when all hope seemed lost, she screamed out into the airless vaccum of space the name of the boy she loved, hoping against hope he could save her once more.

Tenchi could feel the aura of Ryoko's immense power flaring up, but grimly noted that it barely seemed to make much difference against the force of the gravatational pull. Pressing onward , the bits of debris evaporated around him as he neared ever closer to Ryoko, until he felt something which made his stomach churn. He could feel her energy signal suddenly die down and become more and more distorted as she obviously by now was nearing the event horizon of the black hole. He knew it wasn't far ahead, he could feel the twisting of the fabric of space around him, and then, he emerged from the cloud of debris, and stared head on at the vast gaping abyss of the black hole in front of him.

Plunging ahead, he could just make out Ryoko's form_._ Ignoring the pressures being exerted on his light hawk wings, he raced towards his goal steadfastly. Even with the power of the wings he was starting to have some trouble dealing with the gravatational strains, but thought no further of it as he finally reached Ryoko. Her mouth was opened in a silent scream along with her eyes. Tenchi reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her against him, and noticed with relief that she looked fine.

He noted how time seemed frozen in this distorted realm, and the ripples and tears in the fabric of space were felt all around him and became nauseating. Suddenly, something went wrong, as Tenchi felt as if he was being swallowed alive by the universe itself, there was no up, or down, or any discernable way out of the black abyss. And then, all went dark as he lost conciousness...

  


***

  


"Is there any sign of them, Washu?" Ayeka asked desperately as she nervously fiddled with her kimono.

The red haired girl sighed and rubbed her temples. "No, not yet, I'm not sure what's taking so long. Let me check..." the rest trailed off into mumbles as she rapidly began to begin some new analysis of the situation. Blinking a few times in shock, she straightened her back mechanically and stared at the figures on her computer screen. "There's been a massive shift detected within the black hole, and I can't find any trace of Tenchi and Ryoko."

Shock was evident on everyones faces as Ayeka rushed over to Washu and hysterically asked, "What do you mean? How can they just...vanish?" 

Washu put a finger to her chin as she contemplated for a moment. "It's possible this was a hyper dimensional object, and that the corresponding influx of energy from the light hawk wings disrupted the balance causing a massive distortion in it's internal spacial properties."

Ayeka grabbed Washu by the collar and began shaking her. "What does that mean?!"

"Stop shaking me!" the pint sized genius cried out.

Finally getting herself under control, Ayeka let go of her collar and took a deep breath. Washu straightened out her uniform. "I'll explain in easier to understand terminology. Now, you've heard of wormholes, right? While rare, they do exist in the natural universe. The thing is, they are very fragile, and can easily collapse if something enters it which can shift or distort its internal properties. I think it's safe to say the power of the light hawk wings would be sufficient enough to disrupt a wormhole and cause it's collapse." she spoke as if she were a teacher in a classroom.

Sasami hung her head sadly as tears began to spill over her cheeks. "Are they..."

Washu closed her eyes and exhaled. "Maybe not, it's still possible they are alive. They could have come out of the other side of it. The problem is, it's impossible now to determine where that is since the wormhole collapsed."

"So we have no way of knowing where they are?" Mihoshi wailed, grief written all over her face.

"I'm afraid not," Washu said quietly, pausing a moment before continuing, "if they made it out alive, they'll have to fend for themselves."

  


End of chapter 1


	2. Mysteries

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo and all the characters in it belong to AIC and Pioneer corp. I'm making no profit from this fanfic.

Authors notes: Here's chapter 2 of my little fanfic. I'm pleased with the positive reviews so far, and I can't tell you how much they help inspire me to write more. So as always, please read and review.

**Bang the drum slowly**

Chapter 2: Mysteries

  


Through the mists of confusion in the awakening mind, Tenchi began to piece together a few facts: First, his head was aching with a dull, steady throb which seemed to radiate from all parts of his brain. While not particularly painful, the headache was irratating enough to prevent any chance of slipping back into a restful slumber.

The second most noticable thing was that something or someone was laying on top of his chest. Even in his groggy state, Tenchi had enough presence of mind to know that such a thing was worth investigating. So with some trepidation, Tenchi opened his eyes, squinting against the bright sunlight streaming down upon him. The deep, rich, blue sky was crystal clear, with only the barest hint of a few wispy clouds streaming across the heavens above. Lifting his head gingerly, he looked down to discover a mass of cyan colored hair right under his face. _It's Ryoko, I should have guessed. Wait a minute, where the heck am I? What happened? Oh yeah, I went out to rescue her, and then...something went wrong in that black hole, and I lost conciousness. But how did we end up here?_

Frowing when he realized he had no answers to his questions, he gently rolled Ryoko off of him and lifted himself into a kneeling position beside her. _I hope she's alright. _he thought with concern. His mind was put partly at ease when he noticed the rising and falling of her chest as she breathed.

Satisfied that his companion was in good condition, Tenchi's eyes scanned the landscape around him for the first time. There was no sign of civilization around him, only gently rolling hills, covered in a pale green colored grass. Turning his head around, he caught sight of a tree not too far from him, a very abnormal tree at that. Its trunk spiraled upward in a twisting pattern, covered in a light brown bark. The branches on it also had the same spiral pattern as the trunk, and they were adorned with leaves which had the same very pale appearance as the grass around him_._

With a sigh he proceeded to stretch his neck, to work out some of the kinks in it. It was during this, when his head was aimed skyward, that he happened to notice something amiss about the sun in the sky. It seemed about the same color as the one the Earth revolved around, but as Tenchi squinted while gazing at it, he noticed that it was dimmer, and there was a thin trail of gas leading away from it, yet where this was being pulled into was unknown. _I remember in some science books they talked about how in some binary star systems, if one star is larger than the other, the bigger star can pull the gasses from the smaller one away. But I don't see any other star besides this one, so what could be pulling the gas away? _No sooner had he finished his thought did realization creep in and his jaw drop. _The black hole..._

  


***

  


Over the span of hours since Tenchi and Ryoko's disappearance, few of the crew onboard the Yukinojo could get back to sleep, despite Washu's urges for them to do so. Washu herself was deep in the recesses of her subspace laboratory, diligently working away the time at her consoles, trying to discover a solution to this vexing problem. _If they made it out alive, they must be at least several thousand parsecs distance from us, beyond that range my link with Ryoko is nonexistant. _With a heavy sigh she rubbed her weary eyes and sipped at her coffee.

"Well, I guess I better go out and give the others an update on how much progress I've made." she muttered to herself before hopping down from her plush cushion.

The scene she encountered upon leaving her laboratory was dismal, yet totally expected considering the circumstances. Ayeka was sitting against the wall with Sasami, obviously exhausted from all the stress, asleep with her head on her sisters lap. Mihoshi was laying down on a few cushions with a blanket over her, but her eyes were still wide open and staring at the ceiling.

Washu cleared her throat, causing the two girls still awake to snap their heads to look in her direction. "Any news?" Ayeka asked with cautious hope, yet remaining quiet so as not to disturb her sister.

"Nothing yet, but I wanted to tell you what I know so far. We've been out here for awhile now since they vanished, and it's safe to say that either they did make it out the other side of that wormhole...or that they're dead." she solemnly stated, garnering some grief stricken looks from the others.

Washu remained straight faced as she continued, "Now, as of yet I have not received any message from Ryoko via our mental link, in fact I can't even feel her at all. This doesn't necessarily mean she's dead, it could mean that she's just very far away."

Ayeka leaned her head back against the wall before muttering, "I was hoping for some better news than that."

The red haired genius rubbed her forehead. "Well, it's still early on, no need to lose hope yet." Spotting a cup of tea someone didn't finish, Washu quickly gulped it down before continuing, "Do you still plan on going to the Startica festival?"

Ayeka let out a small, tired groan. "I forgot all about that. I-I don't think I should go, not with Tenchi's life in danger."

Shrugging her shoulders, Washu turned around to head back to her lab. "Your choice. Anyways you might wanna send a message to your parents so they don't worry about you. The last thing we need is the entire Jurai royal fleet scouring the galaxy looking for the princesses."

Another groan could be heard from Ayeka. "Mother will not be pleased."

  


***

  


"Good morning...well, I think it's more like afternoon by now."

Those were first words heard by Ryoko as she fluttered her eyelids, trying to drag herself out of the comfortable slumber she emerged from. Seeing as how she recognized the voice as being that of Tenchi, she intensified her efforts. Finally prying her eyes open, she saw the face of Tenchi looking down upon her. _Mmm, nice way to start the day._ she thought with a smile. However her smile soon faded when she noticed the strained wrinkling of his brow and the glint of worry evident in his dark brown eyes.

Memories began to filter back into Ryoko's mind. _Hold on, I was falling into a black hole, so how the hell did I end up here? Where is 'here' anyways? _Quickly sitting up, she stared at Tenchi in askance. "What happened?"

Scratching the back of his neck, he replied, "Well, after you fixed up the coolant pipes on the Yukinojo, Washu said that you were in trouble. So I kind of uh...summoned the light hawk wings and then went out to help you." he sheepishly finished.

Ryoko beamed a huge smile as she stared intently at the boy in front of her. _He did come and save me. _she thought dreamily. 

Her smile began to turn a bit more seductive as she prepared to launch herself at him to give her thanks, but before she could, Tenchi spoke up again, "You had fallen into that black hole by the time I got to you. And then, something...happened, I don't know what it was, but it knocked me out and the next thing I knew I woke up with you out here."

Reminded of the fact that she still had some unanswered questions, her eyes darted all around. "Where are we?" she asked seriously.

Tenchi sighed and looked down at the ground. "Good question."

Looking back at Tenchi, she frowned. "Not the kind of answer I was looking for."

He remained silent for a moment while his eyes were fixated on the soil beneath his feet. "Take a look at this..." he said before he stood up, grimacing at the slight ache in his sore leg muscles. He motioned for Ryoko to stand up as well, to which she quickly complied. Springing to her feet, she dusted off her dress, which she noticed was the same dress she wore when she visited Tenchi on his schools roof so many months ago.

Snapping out of her recollections, she followed Tenchi over to where he stood by an odd little tree which wasn't too much taller than he was. "What is that thing?" she inquired.

His shoulders slumped slightly. "I was hoping you could tell me."

Shaking her head, Ryoko put a finger to her chin. "Nope, I've never seen a species of tree like this," glancing around at the landscape around her, she let out a little 'hmm' before continuing, "don't recognize anything else around here either."

Turning his head skyward, Tenchi pointed at the blazing sun in the sky. "Well, from the looks of it, we aren't far from that black hole, it must be what's pulling those gasses from the star away. So hopefully the Yukinojo isn't too far from here and they'll pick us up."

Ryoko frowned as she looked back down at Tenchi. "I can't feel my link with Washu, Tenchi. Either something happened to her or we're really far away from that ship."

Scratching his head, Tenchi blinked a few times in confusion. "So you're link with Washu has a range on it? But I thought back home you could even communicate with her when she's in that subspace lab of hers?"

"I can, because it's not _really_ out of range. She explained it once, something about that dimension being 'layered' right on top of the area back on Earth, I don't know. Anyways, the point is, I don't feel my link now, and I don't think we're anywhere near the Yukinojo." she crossed her arms as she finished.

"So basically..."

"We're lost." she finished for him.

He was deep in thought for a moment before returning his gaze to the sky with a thoughtful look across his features. "Do you think maybe we went through a wormhole? I mean I've seen them in the movies before, and I've heard that they might be possible, but I wasn't sure if they existed."

Ryoko shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, sounds possible to me. Whatever the case, we're here, and we better get used to it."

Tenchi said nothing but merely closed his eyes and shook his head in defeat. Ryoko cocked a smile before patting him on the back. "No need to get down in the dumps Tenchi, you should thankful that at least you got me to keep you company." she said cheerily.

That statement only seemed to make Tenchi's shoulders slump. "Come on Ryoko, we need to be serious here, this could be a dangerous situation we're in."

Ryoko shrugged off his comment. "Oh we'll be alright. Look, I bet this place has a nice little spaceport on it, so we'll hop a ride out of here. We could even go out on a little honeymoon if you like, Tenchi." she was giggling as she finished, but stopped when she saw him glaring at her in a very deadpan manner.

"You need to lighten up." she muttered under her breath before gliding up into the air. "I can get a much better view from up here." she called down to him, causing him to look up at her. Though he quickly snapped his head back down to look at the ground when he happened to get a look up Ryoko's skirt. 

"I see you've got a nice view from down there, dont you?" she said playfully before flying higher into the sky, laughing all the while.

With the chilly breezes whipping her cyan hair about, Ryoko scanned the horizon for any sign of civilization. _Just a bunch of little hills and tree's. There's gotta be _some_ intelligent life out here, or at least life as intelligent as Mihoshi._ Flying higher into to atmosphere, she squinted her eyes to block out some of the brightness of the sky. _I feel kinda tired. _she idly observed as she was almost at the level as the highest clouds in the sky. _I've always thought that those wispy looking clouds were really pretty. _she thought to herself while blinking her increasingly heavy eyelids.

Hovering in place to examine the land far off in the distance, she frowned when she felt her muscles start to feel a bit weaker. _I think I need a nap. _she noted to herself before beginning her decent back to the ground. Her face contorted into a grimace as a strange sensation began to permeate throughout her body. Something felt out of place to her, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The closest analogy she could come up with was that she felt like a filled up bathtub that just had it's drain plug pulled out. Looking down at the ground still well below her, she gasped as her vision began to blur and swirl about, as diziness bubbled in her brain. _W-what's happening...to..._her golden eyes rolling into the back of her head, she dropped like a stone out of the sky.

Back on the surface, Tenchi was idly examining some leaves when he happened to glance back up at the sky, and caught sight of something plummeting down to the ground. _Is that..._ his eyes widened as he saw the object slam onto the surface some distance ahead of him. "Ryoko?" he called out, not quite believing what he saw. Dropping the pale green leaf, he began to jog towards the the impact sight of whatever it was he saw. "Ryoko, is that you, are you alright?" he called out louder, and then broke out into a full fledged sprint.

The sight that greeted him was not only shocking but sent a chill running down his spine. Ryoko was face down in the dirt, and she wasn't moving at all. "Ryoko! What happened?" he shouted as he raced over to her side, quickly rolling her over on her back.

She let out a small moan of obvious pain while Tenchi began to brush some dirt off of her face. "What happened up there? Did something attack you?" he asked a little more calmly.

She began taking some heavy breaths as she kept her eyes closed, and after a moment she shook her head. "N-no, nothing attacked me. I was just flying around...and then I felt weird, like I was getting really tired. And then I felt dizzy, and I just blacked out for a moment." she murmured.

"Are you gonna be ok?" he asked worriedly.

She opened her eyes and looked over at him before the corner of her lips quirked into a slight smile. "I just need a little rest, I'm already starting to feel better."

Silently nodding, Tenchi sat down on the ground amid the gently swaying blades of grass, his mind deep in thought. _What could've caused her to suddenly drop out of the sky like that? Maybe it's just some temporary side effect of going through that black hole._ A glance at the girl in front of him indicated she had already slipped into a peaceful sleep. _We've got other problems as well, like how are we going to survive out here? I don't see any sushi bars anywhere around._

Standing up, he took a good long look around him. _I remember doing a little survivalist training with grandpa once, and I've seen some shows on it, so now I gotta put that knowledge to good use. Ok, first thing we need is to find a source of drinkable water. I don't see _any _water around here, so I guess I better go look for some._ After taking a few steps forward, he took another look back at Ryoko. _I hope she doesn't freak out if she wakes up and I'm not here._ Shaking his head with a sigh, he tredged on ahead towards a more wooded area.

  


***

  


"Finding water is _hard_!" Tenchi complaimed to himself. 

For the past few hours, he had been scouring the countryside searching for a good source of drinkable water. Leaving small sticks in the ground as markers to where he came from, he had yet to find even the smallest puddle in his quest. Growing frustrated, he began to climb up one of the taller tree's in the area to get a better vantage point of the land around him.

Yet climbing these twisting spires of branches was not as easy as it had appeared, as the bark was quite smooth and difficult to get a good foothold on. _Just need to reach a little further to get ahold of that branch._ he thought as he strained and stretched his arm as much as he could manage. _Damn it, I know I can reach...what is that on my arm?_ Twirling his head around to look at the arm which was wrapped around the trunk of the tree, Tenchi noticed a creature about as big as his fist calmy walking along his forearm. It was completely red colored, hairy, had six legs, one big eye, and it promptly scared the shit out of Tenchi.

"AHHH!" he screamed before absent mindedly jerking his arm to try and get the offending creature off of him. Of course this resulted in him making a less-than-graceful fall from the tree he was in. Trying his best to ignore the pain in back, he let out a few hissing breaths between his clenched teeth. _Maybe it'll rain soon..._

  


***

  


Not far away from where Tenchi was flat on his back, a certain cyan haired girl was racing through the tree's as fast as she could. It turned out the loud scream Tenchi had let loose hadn't gone unheard, as Ryoko wasn't too far behind him trying to catch up. An internal debate raged within her as to whether or not she should just fly over to him, as she would normally do. Yet despite the fact that she was feeling much better since she woke up, she was still fearful of the possibility that she might black out yet again if she were to use her powers.

While Ryoko was worrying herself over Tenchi as she followed his path, Tenchi was changing his strategy a bit in terms of finding water. His persistant thirst had driven him to start pulling up various plants and weeds and checking to see which plants had the most water content. At that moment he was busy chewing up the roots of a little plant which seemed in abundance in the area. _Just remember, it's nutrient rich, and has high water content. I only have to ignore how awful it tastes. _With a slightly disgusted expression, he finished his small 'meal' and began the work of collecting more plants for him and Ryoko to have later.

It was while he was bent over pulling a thick stemmed weed out of the ground that he noticed something bounding along the ground. The object in question was a small, furless, mammal-like creature which resembled a cross between a squirrel and a rat. _Hmm, it's not much, but it'll give us necessary proteins. _Ever so gentle, he crept over to pick up a small rock he spotted. _I don't like killing things, but I gotta do what I have to in order to survive. _Feeling properly justified in his actions and confident that years of training his abilities and senses would assure him the kill, he reared his arm back to throw the small stone...

"TENCHI!" was what he heard a millisecond before being knocked to the ground by a charging Ryoko. Of course all the commotion sent the little creature Tenchi had been hunting scurrying up into a tree.

While Tenchi was laying on the ground rubbing the back of his head, Ryoko released him from a bear hug so that she could check and see if he had any injuries. While she was doing this she rambled on at a mile-a-minute, "Oh Tenchi I heard you scream and I was so worried about you, I mean I knew you didn't have Tenchi-ken and you can't always summon your light hawk wings so I was thinking that anything could have happened to you..."

"Ryoko, I'm fine." Tenchi muttered tiredly.

"...so I was gonna fly over here but then I remembered what happened and I thought that I wouldn't be any help to you if I blacked out so I just started running as fast as I could but I was..."

"Ryoko, I said I was fine." he said louder, annoyance evident in his tone.

"...but what if I didn't get here in time? Why did you have to run off when I was asleep? I mean you could've waited and then I wouldn't be so damn worried..."

Finally having his fill of her paranoid prattling, he grabbed her by the shoulders. "Ryoko, I said I was FINE." He shook her a bit to try and get his point across.

She stopped talked and stared at him with her big golden eyes blinking. "Are you sure?" she asked innocently.

Hanging his head he let out a defeated groan. "Yes, I just fell out of a tree while I was out looking for some water."

Ryoko crossed her arms and glared at Tenchi. "You mean to tell me I ran down here worried sick because you can't climb a tree? If you wanted to know where we could find water all you had to do was wait until I woke up. I saw a little pond while I was flying around earlier."

Tenchi's eyes lit up. "Where'd you see it?"

"It's in the opposite direction of where you've been going." she said simply, trying to refrain from smiling when she saw his striken look. "Just kidding! You were on the right track, it's just up ahead." she exclaimed while grinning wildly.

Tenchi let out a relieved sigh and leaned back against a rock. "Thank heavens, I'm dying of thirst..." Just then his stomach rumbled loudly. "...and hunger."

  


***

  


"So what are you trying to do now?"

Looking behind his shoulder, Tenchi shushed Ryoko and whispered, "I'm waiting for that little animal to come down so I can hit it with this rock. I know it might seem cruel but we have to eat in order to survive."

_Well, _you_ have to eat to survive, all I need is my gem. _Ryoko observed to herself while watching Tenchi creep stealthily closer to his prey. She sat on the cold ground and silently admired Tenchi's graceful movement and agility. It never ceased to amaze her how he could manage to transform from a shy, bumbling schoolboy into a full fledged samurai sometimes.

With lightning speed, he hurled the stone at his target, and successfully struck it. Standing up to wipe some sweat beads off his brow, Tenchi let out a sigh as he look a glance at the setting sun on the horizon. "It's going to be dark soon, we should probably head down to that pond and set up camp for the night. Why don't you help me gather up some firewood?" he asked over his shoulder. While not a fan of manual labor, she agreed seeing as how they were in some unique circumstances and that Tenchi had asked her.

Ryoko had an extremely bored look on her face as she scooped up dead branches off the ground. She was hoping to be able to spend some time with Tenchi, but he had gone off in search of some plants to help fill out the sparse dinner he was planning. _I need to speed this up..._ she thought to herself before she caught sight of a rather tall tree standing in front of her. With a smirk she closed her fist in preparation to form an energy saber, only to halt herself at the last moment. _What if I get dizzy again? Then again, I do feel fine. I bet what happened earlier was just a little fluke, probably from going through that wormhole._

Yet despite her mental reassurances, she couldn't ignore the fear deep within that something was amiss. With her brow wrinkled in thought, her amber eyes gazed intently at her hand a moment before letting it relax and fall to her side. _I'll try my powers out tomorrow, no need to risk anything happening tonight. A good nights rest and I'll be fine..._

  


***

  


As the fading light of dusk began to turn into the darkness of nightfall, Tenchi and Ryoko set up a small, makeshift camp at the shore of the small pond Ryoko had led them to. There the two sat by a pile of wood they collected, and next to that, a pile of pulled up weeds and a small dead animal, which was to be the nights dinner.

"Alright, time to start a fire. Boy it's been years since I started a fire without any matches or lighters." Tenchi said with smile while he gathered up a few sticks.

"How are you gonna make one?" Ryoko asked curiously as she moved a bit closer to him to better observe what he was doing.

With a broad smile he knelt down firmly on a large stick to keep it in place while he picked up a smaller one in his hands. "It's all about friction, Ryoko. See, when you take this little stick here and rub it really fast against this other one, the friction will cause it to heat up." he said while placing the smaller piece of wood between his palms and proceeding to twist it about rapidly.

Ryoko tilted her head downward and placed her hands on her cheeks. "Oh you naughty boy! You bring a sweet, innocent girl like me out into the woods and start telling her about how you want to rub things together to create heat." she said in her most girlish tone of voice.

Tenchi promptly choked on his tounge. "T-that's not w-what I..."

Bursting out into fits of laughter, Ryoko shook her head and tried to save the sputtering boy from too much embarrassment. "I know that, silly." Quieting down, she watched as Tenchi's efforts at making fire were being rewarded as a little bit of smoke was becoming evident. "Say Tenchi, where'd you learn how to do this?"

His eyes became distant for a moment as he recalled memories of long ago. "I was nine years old, and my dad and I went out camping. I remember he kept telling me about how he was gonna teach me how to survive on my own, like a real man. Of course he brought along so much food and supplies that we could have built a small fortress out there. By the end of our trip, he had managed to fall into a river, nearly get bit by a snake, spray bug repellant into his eyes by accident, and nearly burn down half the forest." by the time he finished, both he and Ryoko were chuckling.

"The one thing he did teach me was how to start a fire like this." he said while gathering some dead grass to place at the now heated part of the log. After gently puffing on it some, the pile of grass began to smoke heavily and then eventually it started to burn.

Setting the flaming grass onto the larger pile of dead grass, weeds, and sticks, he sported a triumphant grin as the wood pile slowly but surely began to be set ablaze. Ryoko clapped in appreciation. "Nice work, Tenchi."

"Thanks." he muttered while sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

Reaching over to pick up the creature he had killed earlier, he commented, "Well, I guess I should start our dinner now, Ryoko. I know it's not a lot, but it's best I could do with so few daylight hours." With a distasteful expression, he impaled the creature on a sharp stick to hold over the fire.

Looking at the pitifully small creature and the few dirty plants Tenchi had pulled up for their dinner, she turned her eyes downward. "Don't worry about me Tenchi, you should eat all of that." Ryoko stated as casually as she could.

Blinking in confusion, he looked up over the fire at her. "What do you mean? As far as I know, you've gone the same amount of time without food as me. You should be starving by now."

Ryoko glanced away from Tenchi with an uncomfortable look on her face. "I'm not hungry...I don't get hungry." she finished in a mumble.

Straining to hear her over the blaze, he asked, "What was that?"

With a sigh, she repeated herself, louder this time. "I said...I don't get hungry. My gem sustains me, I don't need to ever eat." she spoke sharply.

"Oh." he said simply.

Ryoko was thankful that he didn't seem to want to press the issue further. Back at his house, she would always eat dinner with the rest of the family so that he wouldn't ever know how different she was than him. But in light of the different circumstances they were now in, she had to drop her little facade so that he could survive.

The only sound for some time was the constant crackling of blazing fire as Tenchi and Ryoko were both lost in their own thoughts. Silently, Tenchi ate his fairly unappetizing dinner while occasionally stealing glances at the girl seated across from him, watching as the orange flames danced about, casting a glow on her. 

"So, you think this planet has any moon?" he asked lamely, trying to come up with some conversation.

"I dunno." she muttered while shrugging her shoulders.

With a yawn, she proceeded to lay back onto the cool dirt, quickly frowning when she looked up at the sky. "There's hardly any stars in the sky." she remarked with disdain.

Taking a look for himself, he nodded his head. "You're right, it's so..."

"Dark." she finished his comment quietly.

"What planet do you think we're on?" he asked while tilting his head down to look at Ryoko.

She took on a thoughtful look for a moment. "Seeing as how few stars there are, maybe we're somewhere at the fringe of the galaxy."

After all the days twists and turns, Tenchi wasn't very surprised to hear that. With a heavy sigh, he rubbed his weary eyes, realizing just how tiresome all the days work had been on him. "I think I'm gonna try and catch some sleep, Ryoko." Grunting with discomfort, he laid down on the hard ground beneath him, sure that what sleep he did get would not be very good.

"Goodnight Tenchi." Ryoko said calmly, still staring up at the sparsely populated night sky.

"Goodnight Ryoko."

  


***

  


_Cold, yet familiar, that's the place I'm at._

_A vast field all around me. A giant wall cuts across the landscape, it has no beginning, no end._

_I touch the wall gently, feeling its intricate texture. Cracks are forming, they almost look like veins as they spread outward, encompassing all of it._

_The scence melts away..._

_Emptyness all around me, a lone Sakura blossom flutters in the wind. I watch as it withers, and turns to dust._

_The scence melts away..._

_A river rages all around me, it has no beginning, no end. I'm swept up in it, I can't fight the current, I'm getting pulled under._

_Fade away..._

_Fade away..._

_Fade away._

  


With a startled gasp, Tenchi's eyes snap open. Short of breath, he sits up and looks all around him in the darkness of the night. _It was just a dream._ Closing his eyes as he begins to pump air into his lungs, he lays down once more on the ground, his ears greeted by the occasional crackling sound of the dying embers. It would be some time before Tenchi could fall back asleep that night.

  


End of chapter 2.


	3. Clouds of confusion

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo and the characters in it belong to AIC and Pioneer Corp. I'm not making any profit from this fanfic.

  


**Bang the drum slowly**

Chapter 3: Clouds of confusion

  


As the morning sun slowly rose over the horizon, and the local wildlife emerged from it's slumbering, Ryoko sat and watched the soothing rays of sunlight spread out across the land. While she never considered herself a 'morning person', she had to admit that there was nothing quite like watching a sunrise. On Earth she rarely awoke early enough to enjoy such a sight, but due to the uncomfortably hard ground she slept on the previous night, she found it hard to get very good rest. Her eyes turned towards the small lake, and watched the sunlight dance across the rippling surface of the water. _I could use a good dip in the water. _she decided.

Hopping off the boulder she had been sitting upon, she bounded over to the shore of the lake and quickly tossed her dress aside. Experimentally dipping her toe into the water, the nude woman noted with a smile that while the water was chilly, it was still warm enough to swim in comfortably.

Wading out into deeper waters, she let out a sigh as she floated on the lake. _I wish Tenchi were around. He was still sleeping when I got up._ _He'll be up soon enough, and I'll have plenty of time to be with him. _She thought with a blissful sigh. The dual nature of the warming sunlight shining down from above and the cool water surrounding her combined to form a very pleasant sensation for Ryoko. Relaxing was something she could use given the current situation she and Tenchi found themselves in.

As she laid on her back, floating along the water, she gazed up at the clear skies above which seemed to epitomize the paradoxical nature of the planet. While the bright sun shining down seemed innocuous enough, the sight of it's energy being sucked away by an unseen black hole was a powerful reminder of the dangers prevelent. _It's so peaceful here, yet so...I don't know, _wrong._ I still haven't figured out what happened to me to other day when I was flying around. Still, worrying myself sick won't accomplish anything, I just need to loosen up._ she decided.

Closing her eyes, she let the world just melt away, paying heed to nothing but the feel of the water and the sounds of nature. It was while she was listening to the world around her that she caught the distant sound of something else splashing around in the lake. Quickly straightening out in the water, she swirled her head about, trying to see what was causing the noise. An ear to ear grin formed when she saw that Tenchi was the culprit. He was quite far away, and seemingly oblivious to her presence in the lake. _Time to have some fun!_ she thought before forming a plan.

Tenchi had awoke to find the still smouldering embers of the previous nights fire, but no sign of Ryoko. Figuring that she had gone out to explore a little, he decided it would be a good time to take a little swim in the lake, to wash away some of the dust and dirt he had accumulated. With a few nervous glances to make sure Ryoko wasn't hiding behind some bush, he shed his clothing and went out into the lake.

His head twirled about anxiously, afraid that at any moment, a certain cyan haired girl would discover him in his state of undress. _I need to calm down. I can't live _every _moment in fear of Ryoko. _Making a real effort to just relax for once, he exhaled loudly and tried to just take in the serenity of the atmosphere around him.

It was at this moment that Ryoko sprung up from underneath the water, right in front of his face. "Good morning Tenchi!" she jubilantly exclaimed.

His heart promptly leapt into his throat as he gasped in fear and shock. As his stunned brain registered the fact that Ryoko was naked, and mere inches away from his nude body, he quickly began sporting a nose bleed. In his panic striken condition, he spun around and frantically swam back towards the shore. Ryoko snickered at his reaction and shook her head in amusement. _I never get tired of playing with him like that. He's just _so _adorable when he's flustered._

  


***

  


Hiking through the underbrush, the cyan haired ex-pirate and the young shrine apprentice marched on in silence. Tenchi had his gaze fixed ahead of him, making an obvious effort to pay no attention to the girl beside him.

"I don't see what the big deal is." Ryoko said defensively.

Tenchi shot her a stern glare. "The big deal is nearly giving me a heart attack. I wish you'd stop pulling those stunts."

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well it's not my fault that you find my naked body so stunning that you nearly faint."

"T-that's not what I meant and you know it!" he exclaimed.

"I know one part of your body liked seeing me." she remarked playfully. Tenchi turned his head away to avoid letting her see his rising blush, and chose not to make any retort, hoping the subject would drop.

The two of them were hiking along through the tree's as the morning wore on. After the little 'incident' earlier, they chose to get an early start on their exploration of the foreign planet they were on. When they first awoke on the planet the previous day, they were in gently rolling hills scattered with tree's. By now they were in a more densely packed forest, teeming with various forms of life.

"Why are you always so nervous around girls?" Ryoko asked in a curious manner.

Turning his head back over to her, his lips quirked upward into a wry smirk. "Well, maybe it's because I live with a bunch of insanely powerful women who constantly destroy my house and get me into trouble."

"We don't 'constantly' destroy your house." she protested.

He shook his head in disbelief while stepping over a fallen tree. "When was the last time that some part of my home wasn't damaged?"

Ryoko's expression became thoughtful for a moment before she frowned. "Ok, maybe me and Ayeka do fight a lot. But we're just letting off a little steam, no harm in that."

"Tell that to the walls." he muttered under his breath.

Not hearing his little remark, she continued, "Besides, our fights haven't been that bad lately."

"Yeah, I have noticed that. I guess it's been...I don't know, since that battle with Dr. Clay that things seem to have calmed down a little." he observed.

Ryoko nodded her head silently in agreement. Though she didn't like to admit it, she knew that the assimilation with Zero had helped her deal with her emotions better. She was still firey and playful, but there was another, more calming element to her psyche that aided her a lot in expressing her feelings and dealing with anger.

She was broken out of her thoughts when her right foot suddenly sunk into some very wet and slimy sludge. Her mouth quirked downward in disgusted shock as she looked down to discover that she was knee deep in some murky liquid.

"Guess we better watch our steps." Tenchi commented from the dry land behind her. Turning her slowly behind her, she leveled him a glare that instantly made him step back in fear. "I think it's a little late for that, don't ya think? She asked icely while pulling her leg out of the thick swamp sludge, the audible noise of which only seemed to emphasise her point.

Nervously gulping, he looked at her mud soaked right leg and dress. "Umm Ryoko, your shoe is kind of...gone." he timidly pointed out.

Ryoko clenched her fist and hissed through gritted teeth, finding her patience wearing thin. Anger was surging through her veins as she contemplated vaporizing a few acres of land to vent her frustration. Yet instead, she relaxed her fist and exhaled deeply, a very large, devious smile gracing her lips. "Tenchi dear, I want you to come over and get my shoe out of the swamp for me." Her voice was dripping with honey as she spoke, her eyes promising something unpleasant to any who challenged her.

"Me? Why should I? It's your shoe." he said while crossing his arms.

"Because then I'd ruin the arms of this dress. And believe me, you dont want to see that happen." She stalked over towards Tenchi as she spoke, her posture menacing.

Picking up on her not-so-subtle hints, he swallowed loudly and began to sweat as she drew nearer. "Well, I-I guess I don't want that to happen, so I'll g-go get your shoe." he stammered.

"Why that's sweet of you!" she exclaimed while clasping her hands together.

Wanting to get his task done with as soon as possible, he knelt down and began to take off his field jacket so as not to soil it. However, Ryoko's throat clearing stopped him in mid-motion. "Tenchi, leave the jacket on." she demanded.

"But it'll get..."

"Exactly. If I'm going to walk around with a ruined dress, then you're going to have a ruined jacket." she stated with a feral gleam in her eyes.

Tenchi chose not to continue his protests as he saw the look on her face and the tone of her voice. He knew she was just taking her frustration out on him, but he was willing to mess up a jacket if it meant keeping her anger from boiling over. Looking down at the thick pool of mud in front of him, he let out a sigh before slowly sinking his arm in the swamp.

_Oh this is so gross!_ he thought while his arm was submerged up to his shoulder in the sludge. Swishing his arm around in the slimy liquid, his hand searched out for the object he desired. After grabbing a few bits of wood and some things he couldn't identify, he finally managed to find her shoe. Quickly rearing up, he pulled his arm out of the swamp with a disgusted look on his face. "I found it." he said in a less-than-enthusiastic manner.

"Good." Ryoko said simply, her smile becoming more genuine. Watching Tenchi perform that little task had done wonders in relieving her tension, but she wasn't done yet. Sitting down a nearby fallen log, she stuck her right foot out in front of her, the gesture clearly indicating she wanted him to put the shoe on for her.

Tenchi's expression of disbelief turned into a deep frown as he resigned himself to his fate. While he muttered under his breath, he strode over and knelt before her. The whole scene playing out brought to Ryoko's mind a memory of an old American fairy tale she saw a few months ago. _What was it? Oh yeah, Cinderella. Well it looks like my prince charming is presenting me with my glass slipper._

With a sour look on his face, Tenchi turned her shoe upside down, allowing a large amount of mud to slide out onto the ground. _So maybe it's not exactly like the fairy tale. _The absurdity of the situation was quite apparent to her as she struggled to stay composed.

Taking ahold of her muddy foot, Tenchi slipped the filthy shoe onto her. "Happy now?" he asked flatly.

"Ecstatic." Ryoko replied with a grin.

  


***

  


As mid-morning turned into the afternoon, Tenchi and Ryoko treked on through the woods, continuing their exploration of the planet. They had chose to stay close to the water, figuring that if any intelligent life was around, that it'd be near a source of water. Earlier, Tenchi had found some cleaner water and managed to find some clams to eat. While not the most tasty nor satisfying of meals, it was nurishment nonetheless. It was times like this that Ryoko was quite thankful for the fact that she didn't need to eat. 

"Looks like it'll rain." Tenchi commented casually.

Ryoko took a look up at the sky through the gaps in the tree's before responding, "I don't think it'll rain." 

"I've always had a knack for knowing whether or not it will rain. I can tell by the way the clouds look." he said while gesturing towards the sky.

"Yeah, well I think you're gonna be wrong this time." she said while flashing him a devilish smirk.

With a smile of his own, Tenchi was about to reply, but something else caught his attention. "What was that?" he asked while turning his head around to find the source of the noise he heard.

"I didn't..." Ryoko cut herself off in mid-sentence as her ears picked up on some rustling leaves in the nearby bushes.

Both of them were silent as they carefully listened all around them. After a moment, they heard the snapping of twigs nearby. "Something's out there." Ryoko whispered.

A deafening silence hung once more, the hairs on Tenchi's neck stood on end. And then, as if a shot was fired, something burst from the bushes, charging towards the pair. They both spun around to find four creatures which resembled wolves with tusks racing at them. Their snarling faces left no doubt as to their intentions on devouring the two of them.

"TENCHI! LOOK OUT!" Ryoko screamed before leaping in front of the shocked boy. A red energy sword sprung forth from her fist as she flew towards the pack.

With a few vicious swipes, she managed to slice the head of one of the beasts clean off, the second one she cut a huge gash across its side. The two which escaped her fury seemed intent on making Tenchi their next meal. Totally unarmed, and caught off guard, Tenchi could only duck and roll out of the way to avoid the flying lunge made by one of the creatures. Looking up, his breath caught in his throat as he stared right into the red eyes of the other beast as it hurled at him, it's jaws opening for the kill.

That bite never came though, as Ryoko phased in front of Tenchi and stabbed the attacking animal right through it's throat. When Ryoko turned around to see if he was alright, Tenchi noticed something very wrong with the way she looked. She was gasping for breath, pale skinned, and sweating profusely. He had no time to inquire about her well being as she let loose a battle cry and launched herself at the last of the creatures.

With all her force, she brought her crackling and flickering energy saber down upon the back of the vicious beast. And so in a matter of a few seconds, the battle was over. Tenchi stared wide eyed at Ryoko as she hung her head while letting her sword blink out of existence.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

With her legs wobbling, she stumbled forward a few feet before falling to her knees. "I-I don't know." she mumbled in a daze.

Tenchi sprung over towards Ryoko and knelt down, wrapping his arm around her shoulder in order to steady the girl. "What's happening? Is it like what happened yesterday?" he asked with concern evident in his voice.

Rubbing her eyes, she nodded her head silently, still trying to regain her equilibrium. "Well then let's just rest here for a bit, ok?" Tenchi said while leaning her up against a tree trunk.

Beginning to catch her breath, Ryoko opened her eyes and stared up at the sky. "What the hell is going on around here?" she asked in bewilderment.

  


***

  


Light years away, the residents onboard the Yukinojo drifted through the velvety blackness of space. Deciding to remain near the site where Tenchi and Ryoko vanished, the residents onboard the ship began to settle down on the cramped space craft.

"Miss Ayeka, I suggest you hurry up and get out here, I haven't got all day you know." Washu called out in an irratated fashion.

"Very well little Washu, I'm coming."

Emerging from her bedroom, Ayeka strode over towards the red head. "Go ahead and open a communications channel to Jurai, I think I look presentable enough by now." Ayeka said with some certainty.

Washu snorted derisively. "Well I should hope so! It took you two hours to get dressed."

Ayeka scowled and crossed her arms. "I had to look decent for mother and father. My father doesn't take bad news very well." she finished the last part of her sentence quietly.

"So you're going to tell them about Tenchi's disappearance?" Washu asked neutrally.

Ayeka let out a tired sigh. "Yes, I'll do my best to explain to them what happened."

Washu stayed silent as she punched in the last few keys, connecting right into the royal palace's communications network. On the screen in front of them, a very upset looking young man appeared. "I request you immediately leave this communications channel. It is only authorized for..." he stopped in mid sentence when he saw who was standing next to the little girl on his screen.

"It is authorized only for members of the council or royal family, I know. But don't you think that the crown princess of Jurai would be authorized to use this channel?" asked Ayeka calmly.

The young man on screen went pale. "Y-yes your highness! W-what do you..."

"I wish to speak with the emperor and empresses."

"B-but they..."

"It is important. I must speak with them at once." Ayeka commanded sternly.

"Of course, right away!" the man stammered before quickly typing up a storm on his keyboard.

Washu did her best to refrain from smiling and turned towards Ayeka. "I bet you royal types get a kick out of scaring the crap out of kids like him."

Ayeka's lips quirked upward into a slight smirk as she stared straight ahead. "What would ever give you that idea?" she innocently replied.

The brown haired man on the screen looked up the two. "Alright, the emperor and empresses will be coming on now." Right after he said that, the screen instantly changed, and they were now looking into what looked like a bedroom. Azusa stood in a black robe made of the finest materials, and he was flanked by his two wives, Funaho and Misaki. By appearances, it had seemed they had just woken up.

Rubbing his eyes, Azusa stifled a yawn before he said, "Ayeka, what is the meaning of waking us up with this call?"

The violet haired princess bowed humbly. "I apologize for disturbing your rest."

"Oh I don't mind at all. I'm happy to see you, my little Ayeka." Misaki said with a bright smile.

"I am pleased to see you too...mommy." Ayeka mumbled the last word before continuing, "I wish to inform you of some terrible events which will prevent me from being able to attend this years Startica festivities."

Misaki's face fell, and she was about to reply when Azusa interrupted her. "What 'events' are you speaking of?"

"It is concerning Lord Tenchi. You see, there was an accident onboard the ship..."

"Is he alright?" Misaki interjected.

"...I don't know." Ayeka said quietly. Before anyone could respond however, Ayeka once again spoke up. "As I was saying, there was an accident on the ship. The indirect result of this accident led to Lord Tenchi being pulled into a...wormhole. Now he was able to summon the light hawk wings, so he may have managed to survive and emerge on the other side. Though at the moment we are not able to locate where he may be."

After finishing, Ayeka took a quick appraisal of her parents expressions. Misaki seemed obviously worried, Azusa had his eyebrows knitted together as he stood tall, and Funaho seemed very calm and serene for one who had just received such troubling news.

Azusa cleared his throat before speaking, "We will do what we can to aid in the effort to locate Tenchi. And though I understand your choice to skip the Startica festivities, I want you know that you may still come home to spend some time with your family in private if you wish."

"Thank you for the offer father, but I feel I must decline. Miss Washu is doing all she can to locate them, and I think I should be with her in case she makes any progress."

"Very well, that is your choice. If there is nothing else you wish to speak to me about, I would like to return to sleep."

Ayeka nodded her head. "That is all I wanted to tell you. Goodnight father."

"Goodnight Ayeka." Azusa said stiffly before the screen went black.

Exhaling in relief, Ayeka relaxed her shoulders before sitting down on a nearby cushion. She knew her father didn't exactly care much for Tenchi, but she suspected that he was nonetheless concerned about his safety. While Azusa's mannerisms seemed gruff and slightly cold, Ayeka could see the hint of worry beneath his stoic exterior.

"You know, I noticed that you didn't tell them about how Ryoko had gone out to fix the ship, and that Tenchi had left to save her." Washu observed.

"Yes, I didn't wish to bother them with the details. And...I didn't want them to blame Ryoko for Tenchi's disappearance." Ayeka said the last part of the sentence rather quietly.

Washu remained straight faced as she stared up at the princess. "I'll be in my lab." she said plainly before turning and heading back into her sub space lab. If Ayeka had paid closer attention, she may have noticed Washu's lips curving into a smile before she left.

  


***

  


A sullen mood pervaded the air as Tenchi and Ryoko wearily trudged through the wilderness. After their encounter with those vicious beasts earlier, Tenchi had insisted that Ryoko rest for awhile after seeing how drained she seemed. It didn't take a genius like Washu to conclude something was amiss, and the mystery surrounding this problem was nagging both of them.

Tenchi cast a brief glance at the silent woman walking beside him. Her eyes stared straight ahead, her thoughts obviously elsewhere. He wished he had some answers to the myriad of questions that hung in the air, but he was as confused as she was.

Ryoko's voice interrupted his contemplations. "Tenchi, what's that up ahead?"

Curiousity aroused, his dark eyes scanned the thinning forest. He was about to inquire just what she had seen when his gaze fixed upon an unusual looking object up ahead. He couldn't make out what it was from the distance he was at, but it didn't seem like it belonged in the forest.

Both of their heads turned towards one another at the same time. "Come on, let's check it out." Ryoko suggested with excitement evident in her voice.

Tenchi laid a hand on Ryoko's arm to stop her from sprinting ahead. "Wait, we don't know what it is, it could be dangerous. Let's just quietly go over and take a look."

After a moment, Ryoko nodded her head in agreement. The pair quietly made their way into the bushes and crept forward, using the utmost of stealth. Poking his head from around a rather large tree, Tenchi furrowed his brow at the sight before him. "It looks like there's a whole bunch of stuff ahead, mostly metallic."

Ryoko stuck her neck out and took a look. "It looks like there's a bunch of leaves and weeds all around it. Maybe it's safe to take a closer look."

Tenchi made a small noise of agreement before warily slipping out into the more open terrain, with Ryoko closely behind him. The nearer they got to the strange objects, the more puzzling the scene became. It seemed as if there were chunks of metal scattered all over the area, many were almost totally covered in dirt and leaves.

More confident the area was abandoned, they strode over towards a rather large object around fifteen feet in height. Forest vines covered most of the object, but a few parts of metal shone through. Silently, the pair began to tear away the forest growths that were covering the object.

"It looks like some sort of vehicle. See the wheels? Similar to the ones on tanks back on Earth. And it looks like this thing was equipped with some sort of weaponry. See, this broken part here in the front, it looks like some sort of large gun was attached at one point." Ryoko commented while climbing on top of the heap of debris.

"You're right. And I think I see the rest of it under the leaves." Tenchi said while kneeling down and digging away at the ground.

Ryoko's eyes widened when she looked around at the top of the tattered vehicle. "Well Tenchi, I think I have a pretty good idea why this thing broke."

"Really?" Tenchi asked curiously.

"Yep, namely the fact that it had a hole about the size of your bedroom ripped into it."

"Wow, what do you think happened here?" Tenchi muttered while looking around at the piles of wreckage that were littering the forest floor.

Ryoko scanned the landscape from her better vantage point, a thoughtful expression on her face. Many of the vehicles in the area where shattered beyond recognition, other had gaping holes in them. While wildlife had sprung up around the wreckage, the scene still reeked of death. "It looks like there was one hell of a battle here. Do you notice that this whole area is really sunk into the ground? Whatever destroyed these things blew some pretty damn big holes into the landscape."

Tenchi's eyes widened as he stood up. "That must have been a long time ago. Plants and tree's have grown all around it."

Ryoko nodded her head while stepping down off the massive junk pile. "Yeah, but at least we know that at some point, there was intelligent life here." she remarked.

Standing side by side, Tenchi and Ryoko silently gazed at the scene before them. They imagined what it must have been like all those ages ago, when those massive machines rumbled around, and the absolute carnage that had ensued at this place. How many lives were lost at these grounds? Neither one knew, and neither one wanted to stick around the virtual graveyard for too long.

Ryoko's contemplations were interrupted by a strange sensation coming from her stomach. Grimacing in irratation, she glanced down at herself. _Why does my stomach feel so weird? _A pain emanated from within her, causing her to grip her belly.

Tenchi finally picked up on his companions obvious discomfort. "Is something wrong, Ryoko?"

Knitting her brow together, she concentrated for a moment. "I don't know, my stomach hurts. And I can hear and feel this..sort of gurgling." She frowned when she felt another bit of pain shoot through her. "There it goes again. Tenchi, put your head on my stomach, see if you can hear it."

Tenchi backed up a step and shook his head. "Hey, I'm not falling for another one of your tricks." he protested.

The amber eyed woman growled and took ahold of his shirt collar. "This isn't some game. I just want you to listen."

Reluctantly nodding his head, Tenchi kneeled down and put his ear to Ryoko's stomach. She allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of his warm head pressed up against her, though she restrained herself from trying to make any advances on him. Even Ryoko knew that there was a time and a place for such things.

"There, did you hear that?" she inquired as she felt another rumbling sensation from within.

Tenchi slowly moved his head away from her stomach and looked up at her in a confused manner. "Yeah, I heard that."

"Well what do you think it is?" she asked impatiently.

Scratching the back of his head, Tenchi replied, "Now I'm not sure, but it seems like you're...hungry."

Blinking her eyes rapidly, Ryoko tilted her head to the side. "That can't be right, my gem is supposed to keep me sustained." she insisted.

Tenchi's eyes drifted towards her left wrist, and the ruby red gem on it. "Well, your powers _have_ been pretty messed up since we arrived on this planet." he pointed out.

Ryoko's eyes widened as her gaze also turned towards the source of her powers. Doubts and fears began to well up within her, just as the first drops of rain began to fall on the two of them.

  


***

  


"What is the progress report on the operation currently underway in the Muldovai region?"

"Sir, at last report, both targets were still alive."

"Good, I was concerned about the one being tapped. How much more energy is there for our receivers to take in?"

"Analysis indicates that the source is almost totally drained. Though there are peculiar readings indicating some deeper energy potential is present. However our array system is not advanced enough to do a proper study of this."

"Do you have the report from the defense minister authorizing the next step of our plan?"

"Yes sir, I have it right here. He thinks that the targets would now be unable to mount a good resistance to the planned retrieval operation."

"Good, good. Now what about the other one, any signs of power from it?"

"I have a brief comment from the science chief which states as follows: We are detecting some interesting readings, but we will need an up-close analysis to come to a proper conclusion. Whether or not there is a greater potential hidden in that one is yet unknown."

"Very well, thank you. Now, councilmen, I suggest we take a vote on this matter. Shall we proceed to the next phase? I vote in favor."

"As do I."

"While I think it is a dangerous operation, it seems that the possible rewards are worth it. So I cast my vote in favor."

"Aye."

"I concur."

"Alright then, we have five votes in favor. I want the order given that the retrieval operation will commence in 0700 semi-cycles."

  


End of chapter 3

  


  



	4. The longest night

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo and the characters in it belong to AIC and Pioneer Corp. I'm not making any profit from this fanfic either.

Authors Notes: Sorry for the long delay in updating, I've been pretty busy lately. However, I should be writing a lot more now, so expect future chapters to come out sooner.

  


**Bang the drum slowly**

Chapter 4: The longest night

  


Underneath the thick canopy of the forests twisting brances, two figures sat silently. The only sound which echoed throughout the woods was that of the soft rains which fell. The young man named Tenchi was crouched down on the leaf covered ground, in his hand he held a rotted twig which he idly twirled about. His only companion, Ryoko, was leaning against the trunk of a rather majestic tree which towered into the sky.

Tenchi's dark brown eyes cast a concerned glance at her direction, but quickly moved away onto something else. "We're pretty lucky that it didn't rain too hard, we wouldn't have any dry wood to burn then." he remarked lamely.

Ryoko made a small noise of disinterested agreement, which only served to make Tenchi even more uncomfortable. It hadn't been long ago that the troubling discovery was made that Ryoko could now feel hunger, something which shouldn't normally happen. The overall mood became quite a bit darker after that, with Ryoko wrapped up in her own thoughts and Tenchi struggling to come up with a reason for all that was going on.

Tenchi stood up and stretched his back, popping a few joints in the process. "You know, it sounds like the rain has died down. Maybe we should head on over towards the stream and pick up some more of those clams. It's too late to catch anything bigger now."

Ryoko's unfocused golden eyes blinked a few times in response to hearing his voice and then centered on his standing form. "Yeah, I guess you're right." she said neutrally.

The pair silently made their way towards the nearby stream, the leaves crunching beneath their feet. Tenchi ran a hand through his damp hair and cast a sideways glance at Ryoko before commenting, "These clams don't taste that great, but they fill you up." 

Ryoko inwardly snorted to herself. _Well, I suppose I should be thankful then that I can't taste anything._

  


***

  


Surrounded by towering tree's which seemed to reach the stars, Tenchi and Ryoko sat by a small fire, each one having just finished eating their 'dinner' for the evening. Of all the things Ryoko desired, at the moment, toothpicks were fairly high on her list. _Those damn clams were so stringy! I can only imagine how disgusting they must have tasted. _she mulled to herself while using a small twig to pick at her teeth. Looking to her left, she watched as Tenchi tossed more wood onto the recently lit fire. The air was thick with humidity after the brief showers earlier, so Tenchi had to work extra hard to make a fire for the evening.

Wiping his sweaty brow, the young man sat down on the slightly damp ground and let out a loud sigh. Trying to relax his sore muscles, he rubbed his aching shoulder and grimaced in discomfort. _Roughing it out in the woods sure takes a lot out of you. Though maybe if Ryoko pitched in a little more, it wouldn't be so much work. _No sooner had he thought that, did he look over at his unusually quiet traveling companion. _Though I guess I can't blame her. She's probably got a lot on her mind._

As his eyes wandered about, he couldn't help but notice how the pale leaves of the tree's seemed to glow under the night sky. The effect had a mystical beauty that was almost awe inspiring to Tenchi. "I gotta say, the forests on this planet sure are beautiful, more so than any on Earth. Say, you've been to a lot of planets Ryoko, which one did you think was the most gorgeous?"

Ryoko's eyes focused on his for a moment as she contemplated the question. _I never really thought about that sort of thing before. I guess I try so hard to forget those days, that I don't remember the few bright spots in them._

After several long moments of thinking, the cyan haired girl shrugged her shoulders before replying, "I guess maybe Pervius four. I went there once on a...mission, and I didn't really know what the surface of the planet would look like before I got there. So I was pretty surprised when I saw that there were these vast fields of giant crystals, some of them twenty stories high. They were mainly clear crystals, though some were a light shade of blue or red, and it was just incredible to watch the sunlight pass through them." her voice was soft and her eyes distant as she finished recalling the tale.

Tenchi smiled while resting his head atop his knee's. "Sounds beautiful."

She returned his smile while nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah, it sure was."

Noting that the icey tension seemed to have melted, Tenchi felt relaxed enough to speak up again. "Ryoko, we'll get back home, I'm sure of it." he stated confidently in an attempt to bolster her spirits.

Ryoko cocked her head to the side and gazed at the object of her affection. _He's always so upbeat about things. Who knows, maybe he's right? Maybe we'll get out of this place and everything will go back to normal. I shouldn't be worrying him, so I think I'll try to lighten things up a bit._

Putting on a devilish smirk, she crawled towards Tenchi on her hands and knee's. "I know the perfect way to take our minds off our troubles." she commented suggestively.

Tenchi's eyes went wide as he stumbled backwards. "Come on! Cut it out!" he shouted in a nervous tone.

Ryoko chuckled while hopping up on her feet and taking a long stretch, arching her back dramatically, causing the already flustered young man to become even more uncomfortable. Even though he yelled at her for her seductive antics, Tenchi couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that she was acting more like herself now.

She let out a long, catlike yawn before gazing down at Tenchi with a smoldering look in her eye. He recognized that look immediately and looked for a way to diffuse the increasingly sexual atmosphere. "Say Ryoko, could you grab a few of those branches over there and bring them to me? I need to break them up for the fire." he quickly asked.

Ryoko let out a frustrated grunt before stomping off to comply with his request. _I was hoping maybe he'd be a little more receptive to me seeing as how we're all alone out here. But I guess Tenchi will be Tenchi._ She scooped up the long dead branches and tossed them right next to Tenchi's sitting form.

"Thanks." he said sincerely.

"No problem." Ryoko mumbled while slowly walking around the camp site. As she wandered aimlessly, she would occasionally hop up on a fallen log, or pull on a low hanging branch on one of the tree's.

After a few moments of merely listening to the sounds of the crackling fire and of Tenchi snapping branches, Ryoko began to get restless. "Tenchi, I'm bored." she announced. The young man paused for a nervous moment as he recalled memories of what she would usually do when she was bored.

"Why don't we play a game or something?" she asked casually while examining a dead leaf.

"W-what kind of a game?" Tenchi inquired while praying she didn't have anything sexual in mind.

The golden eyed girl shrugged her shoulders while continuing to walk around the area's of the forest illuminated by the blazing fire. "I don't know, I just want something to do."

Tenchi was feeling more at ease now, convinced she was just genuinely bored and not trying to find some way of seducing him. "It is kinda dull around here, if you can think of something fun to do, I'd be up for it." he cheerfully remarked.

She saw a wide open opportunity to make a few lewd suggestions as to the sort of 'fun' they could have, but chose against such a move. After striking out twice already, she was in no mood to further alienate him from her that evening. She rubbed her chin in contemplation for a moment before snapping her fingers and putting on a winning smile.

"I know! We can play some of the games you used to do at the cave." she suggested.

Tenchi scratched the back of his neck for a moment as he thought the idea over. "I don't know, it'd seem kinda silly now since I'm all grown up."

Ryoko let out a frustated sigh while tossing her arms up in the air. "Ok, fine, I got a better idea. How about we have a little mock duel?"

He raised an eyebrow at her while asking, "You mean like with sticks?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, I mean with our shoes. Of course we use sticks you dummy!"

He nervously scratched the back of his head. "I guess that could be fun. Umm, you aren't going to try and use your powers are you?" his tone became more serious as he finished his question.

She shook her head quickly, annoyed that she had to be reminded of the mysterious problems she was having. In a heartbeat though, she seemed her normally energetic self as she scoured the forest floor looking for suitable pieces of wood to use. Her eyes lit up when she saw a relatively straight looking stick which looked perfect for the job. Just as she picked it up and started brushing the dirt off of it, she heard Tenchi call out, "I found one for myself."

Spinning around, she flashed him a feral smile while gripping the makeshift bokken in both hands. "So did I, so let's get this started!" she shouted as she began to charge towards him. Ryoko was never one for pretentious ceremonies before a fight, she believed in getting to the action as soon as possible. 

Though Tenchi was surprised that she started the fight so soon, he quickly steeled himself for her coming onslaught. All his years dealing with his grandfathers surprise attacks had helped him learn to adapt to the unexpected. Choosing to match her bravado, he let out a battle cry while springing towards Ryoko.

The two warriors met head-on, both bringing their weapons upon eachother. Though their hopes for an epic battle were sooned dashed as both of their makeshift bokkens shattered upon impact with eachother. The two had rushed past one another and stood still, both staring in confusion at their ruined weapons. Quickly turning around to face eachother, they both raised their now pathetic looking little sticks in a defensive posture in an attempt to show they weren't about to give up.

Ryoko's expression of grim determination disappeared as she struggled to hold in her laughter at the absurdity of the battle. "I guess these things were a little more rotten than we expected." she commented.

Tenchi nodded his head sharply, still seemingly intent on finishing out this fight. Ryoko dissolved into a fit of laughter at she saw the serious look on Tenchi's face, it took a moment before she could get herself under control. "Do you really want to continue this fight? Come on, you've got like two inches of 'sword' there. I've got even less!" she exclaimed while once more bursting out into laughter.

Tenchi's posture relaxed a bit as he took a closer look at the sorry state of his weapon. Realizing just how silly it would be to try and continue the duel, he began to chuckle. "I guess you're right." he remarked while tossing the rotted stick onto the forest floor.

Ryoko quickly stopped laughing when she saw that and then struck a winning pose, her weapon raised high into the air. "Ha! I see you just conceded the fight, so it looks like I'm the victor." she used her most haughty tone as she spoke, trying to get a rise out of Tenchi.

The young man merely shook his head silently with a smile while returning to the campfire, setting himself on the ground once more. His female companion jovially bounded over to him, before hopping down right beside the boy, her previous melancholy mood seemingly gone. Pulling her knee's up to her chest, she set her chin atop them while staring at the hypnotic dance of flames in front of her.

Staying still was not one of Ryoko's specialities, as any of those at the Masaki house would be willing to testify. Her golden eyes looked around her, seeking out something of interest. Not wanting to sink back into the self pitying or worrisome thoughts of earlier, she knew she had to do something to occupy herself. And the only thing around which could do that was a certain dark haired boy next to her.

"Tenchi, I'm bored." she said for the second time that night.

He let out a tired sigh before rubbing his forehead. "I'm not really in the mood to play any more games at the moment."

She let out a little 'hmph' noise while frowning at him. "Alright then, why don't _you_ think of something for us to do?" she asked sharply.

He mulled her request over for a moment, his gaze focused on the crackling fire in front of him, before he slowly turned his head towards Ryoko. "Well, maybe we could...talk." he replied tentatively.

She raised a cyan eyebrow at him after hearing his answer. "Talk?" she asked in near disbelief.

He shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. "When you think about it, we've never really had any conversations before. Maybe we could have one now?"

Ryoko stared at him for a long moment, turning the idea around in her mind a few times. "I guess we could...talk." she slowly replied.

He nodded his head silently, his eyes then proceeding to focus on anything but Ryoko. The awkward silence that hung in the air was almost comical seeing as how a few simple words managed to bring it about. Tenchi furrowed his brow in annoyance at the situation. _Come on, say something you idiot! You were the one who suggested 'talking' in the first place._ He wasn't sure why the prospect of having a conversation with Ryoko seemed to make him uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because he had no experience having a real talk with her, perhaps because he was fearful the topics would wander towards their relationship, and his 'choice', or perhaps it was something else entirely, he wasn't sure.

It may have given him comfort to know that Ryoko was just as confused as he was. The cyan haired girl idly dragged a finger through the dirt, her mind elsewhere. J_ust talk with him, what's the big deal? _she told herself mentally. Finally, after several agonizing moments of silence, Ryoko cleared her throat. "I think we got lucky that we didn't arrive here during the winter, we wouldn't want to freeze to death." She inwardly berated herself for not being able to come up with something better.

Tenchi nodded his head. "Yeah, we did get lucky in that regard."

Once more, a thick silence drifted upon the two, the tension building with every moment. A lone bird squawked out into the night, both Tenchi and Ryoko could almost swear that it was mocking them. "This is a lot harder than I thought it'd be." Ryoko muttered in a downcast manner.

Her statement unintentially brought a certain levity to the air, and Tenchi found himself almost laughing at the absurdity of what was going on. She cocked her head to the side in puzzlement as she watched him smiling broadly while seemingly deep in thought. "What's so amusing?" she asked dryly.

"This is." he replied simply. "Look at us, we can't even seem to have a simple conversation. It's ridiculous when you think about it." he went on to say.

_This _is_ ridiculous isn't it? All we have to do is talk about something, nothing hard about that. _she slowly realized. She began to match his grin while she leaned up against a tree trunk. "So tell me Tenchi, what's school like?" she asked triumphantly, proud she managed to improve upon her last attempt at starting conversation.

"Most of the time it isn't really exciting, just classes, classes, and more classes. But during lunch hour there's almost always something going on. Some kids fighting with eachother, some playing pranks, of course there's always some guys trying to pick up some girls." he answered in a relaxed way.

She turned her gaze up to the canopy of tree branches above them before saying, "I never got a chance to go to school. Not that I'd ever want to, I mean I'm smart enough as it is." she quipped in her usual self-confident way before continuing, "I just wondered what you do all day." 

He nodded his head in understanding and tossed another log onto the fire. Ryoko's eyebrows quirked together in contemplation for a moment before she turned her eyes towards Tenchi. "Say, there aren't any girls trying to pick up guys at that school, are there?" she asked suspiciously.

Tenchi could see through her transparent question easily, and knew exactly where she would go with her line of inquiries. "Some girls do that sort of thing." he replied simply.

Her eyes widened a bit as she swallowed that bit of information. "Have any girls...tried to pick _you_ up?" she asked in a slow, almost nervous manner.

"There have been a few girls who've tried." he answered casually, knowing full well the outcome of his reply. 

Ryoko's right eye twitched as jealous anger exploded within her. "I don't believe it! Who are they? I want names!" she shouted. Tenchi just let out an exhausted sigh while Ryoko's eyes widened as another thought entered her mind. "Umm Tenchi, you haven't gone out with any of these girls have you?" she asked timidly.

He shook his head. "Nope, I tell them I'm not interested. I've got enough girl trouble as it is at home, do you think I want to add to that?" He was relieved to see Ryoko seem to relax after his reassurances, the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with her in one of her jealousy fits. There was another reason that he turned down any romantic advances by the girls at his school, but he didn't want to tell Ryoko for fear of how she would interpret it. 

Tenchi was a lot of things, but blind wasn't one of them. The exotic beauty of the women who lived at his house was readily apparent to him, and ever since they moved in, normal Earth girls just seemed so plain. While the guys at his school would be drooling over some new cheerleader, he would just inwardly yawn, knowing that the others back home would put any high school girl to shame.

He was brought out of his thoughts as Ryoko spoke again, "You know, I might have to go back to that school and blow it up again." she remarked with a devilish smirk.

"I don't think that'll be necessary Ryoko, destroying my school once was enough." he replied sarcastically. The topic caused Tenchi's mind to invariably drift back to that fateful night when she had showed up at his school, and then went on to chase him around while hurling energy bolts at him. Though Ryoko's behavior often confused him, that night in particular stuck in his mind. _Since we're supposed to be chatting, might as well ask about that now._ he resolved.

"Ryoko, there's something I've always wondered about the night I met you at the school. Did you really want to kill me?" he asked slowly, unsure of how she would react.

The question took Ryoko off guard, but she nevertheless responded, "Well, at first I was just playing around with you. I was in that cave for 700 years, so I had some energy to burn. But you kept evading me, and you called me a monster, so I got a little pissed off and carried away." she sheepishly admitted. "But deep down I never really wanted to hurt you." she quickly added.

He nodded his head in understanding. "I sort of figured that was the case. I've seen you fight before, and I bet you could've toasted me in an instant if you really wanted to."

She gave him a sly smile while leaning forward. "You're too cute to toast."

Tenchi looked away and quickly tried to change the subject. "I gotta say, you're idea of 'playing around' was pretty messed up. My idea of fun isn't having a near death experience." he remarked dryly.

Ryoko rolled her eyes dramatically in response to his comment. "The mighty creator of the light hawk wings can't handle a few stray energy bolts." she joked. Placing her hand on her chin, she appeared to be deep in thought for a moment before casting him a glance out of the corner of her eye. "Say Tenchi, instead of chasing you around then, what if I had done something else instead? Like this..." 

She quickly sprung up on her feet and bounded over towards a nearby tree. Gracefully hopping up on a low hanging branch, she crossed her legs and stared at him, looking almost exactly as she did that night so many months ago. "I was in that cave for 700 years. It was cold, and dark, and I didn't like it one bit. But you've freed me now, and I want to thank you for that." she finished in a sultry tone while jumping down to the ground and slowly approaching him, swaying her hips seductively as she did so.

Tenchi was like a deer frozen in the headlights as she knelt in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Let me show you my appreciation." she purred while bringing her lips ever closer to his.

He made a strangled gasp while pushing himself away from her and stumbling backwards. "Stop that!" he sputtered out in half panic.

She stuck out her lower lip and pouted. "You mean you wouldn't have let a pretty young girl thank you for helping her out?"

He was clearly unamused by her antics as he sat upright. "First off, you're not young. Second, I wouldn't have done...that with you then because I had just found out that you were from the cave."

Ryoko crossed her arms and put on a mock frown for a moment before slowly beginning to grin. "I just noticed something, you said I wasn't young, but you didn't dispute me being pretty."

He groaned while searching for any way out of the subject. Taking a glance up at Ryoko, he noticed she had moved closer to him, her grin gone and the mischievous gleam absent from her eyes. "Do you really think I'm pretty?" she asked quietly.

Something about her tone gave Tenchi the idea that she wasn't playing around anymore. "Umm...uh...well...y-yeah, I do." he responded nervously, a faint blush creeping over his cheeks.

She smiled broadly, preparing to crush him in a tight embrace, but then decided against such a thing. This was a special moment to her, and she wanted to preserve it just as it was. Deep down she always knew he was at least somewhat attracted to her, but getting a compliment from him was a rarity. Leaning back, she turned her head around, gazing at how the fire cast it's glow around the surrounding forest.

Tenchi shook his head in disbelief. _It's amazing how quickly she can change personalities. One minute she could be bouncing off the walls like a little kid, and the next minute she's so serious you'd think she was at a funeral. I could probably live a thousand years and never figure her out._

As Ryoko laid down on the hard ground, her mind went adrift with the memories of those times long ago. _It seems like it was only yesterday that I first saw Tenchi, out there by the cave. We've both changed so much since then, it's hard to believe sometimes. I'll never forget how excited I was when he released me from that cave, I could hardly believe that it wasn't a dream._

As had happened before when Ryoko reminisced about her being freed from the dark confines of that cave, a small nagging question floated around in her head. She knew of her own feelings about her release, but what about Tenchi's? He seemed to yearn for a more quiet existance, a normal life, two things which her ressurection seemed to make impossible. Her insecurites usually festered and never were addressed, but something was different about this night. Maybe it was the uncertainity about what lay ahead, maybe it was the fact they were all alone, or perhaps because Tenchi seemed to want to talk, to get to know her a little better.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered her resolve while refusing to look at him while she spoke. "Tenchi, do you ever regret it? You know...releasing me from the cave?" she asked softly, trying not to let on just how much she really cared about his answer.

He was genuinely surprised by her question, but he was starting to become accustomed to the unexpected by now. He knew a quick and honest answer was called for in this situation. "No...not anymore. There was a short time when I did early on, but that didn't last." He took a look at Ryoko's still neutral expression as he finished, watching as she contemplated his response.

She silently digested his words and rolled over what he meant around in her head. She wasn't surprised that he did regret his choice early on, what with her nearly killing him at the school. But she wanted to know _why_ he stopped regretting it, was it purely because she was the catalyst for the other girls coming to stay at the Masaki house? Was he thankful she brought Ayeka to him but sorry that the 'demon of the Masaki shrine' was also staying?

"What made you change your mind Tenchi? Not that it really matters." she quickly added in a hollow attempt at maintaining her tough persona.

"I guess because I realized that without you and the others, my life would be dull. I don't really have many friends at school, and our house was always so quiet and empty. But all that's changed now, and I wouldn't have it any other way." he replied with total honesty.

Ryoko smiled while watching the smoke from the fire rising up into the charcoal black sky. _He said 'without _you_ and the others', which means he's not sorry that I'm with him._ She felt slightly liberated as relief washed over her. Sitting upright with lightning speed, she brought her knee's up to her chest while resting her chin atop them. "Let's talk about something new, like how much you wish the two of us could elope." she remarked playfully, her usual vibrant energy seemingly restored.

He shook his head with a smile while snapping some dried sticks. "Why don't I tell you about the time I accidentally ruined a wedding at my grandpa's shrine? I was only about 7 years old at the time."

Ryoko knew from her observations from the cave that Tenchi had a mischievous streak in him as a boy. She grinned in anticipation of his story as she silenty motioned for him to continue. 

After straining to break one rather large branch apart, he brushed off his hands and turned towards the cyan haired girl. "As you know, back then, our house wasn't up at the shrine, so when I would come by, I would spend the weekends there. During the autumn of that year, this couple, probably in their early thirties, were going to have a traditional wedding there. The bride and groom both had large families that attended, and as I recall, it was the largest ceremony the shrine had seen in 18 years. I wasn't too happy about this, because grandpa had told me to stay inside the shrine office while the ceremony was being conducted. But still, I agreed, saying that I would quietly play with a few toys while the whole thing went on. But of course, I decided to do a lot more than that..." he paused for a moment to stoke the fire a bit with a long stick he had acquired.

"After about...10 minutes of playing with my samurai figurines in the office, I got bored. It was a beautiful sunny day, the weather was cool enough so that you could run around and not get hot, but not so cold that you needed a jacket. It was just too tempting for me to resist, so I snuck out a little window and darted off. I decided to take a peek at the wedding, so I snuck around in the bushes and got a closer look at everything. It was quite a sight, there were more than 100 people all dressed in really expensive clothing. Not wanting to get caught outside the office, I decide to go off into the woods to find something interesting to do. After playing a few games pretending to fight some invisible dragon, I chose to head over to the cave."

Ryoko smiled wistfully at his last remark, remembering how his visits were the sole bright spot in her miserable imprisonment. Tenchi scratched the back of his head for a moment as he tried to recall some exact details of his story. "Oh yeah, I remember now. I was walking along in the woods when I saw this bee hive. I had just learned that honey came from bee's, so I stopped for a moment to get a closer look. Then I started to think about my grandpa, and how he doesn't like any sugar or honey in his tea. But I thought that maybe if the honey was fresh from the hive, he might like it. So I decided I was gonna scoop some out and bring it back, but as you can probably guess, that wasn't a good idea." he was chuckling while he tried to continue the story.

Composing himself, he went on, "Needless to say, the bee's weren't too happy about my attempt. It only took a minute, but I had the whole nest flying after me, and I ran faster than I think I ever have, screaming all the while. The wedding at the shrine was the last thing on my mind, I just wanted to find some place safe from the bee's. So I come charging through this grandiose ceremony, shrieking, with who knows how many thousands of bee's on my tail." By now both Tenchi and Ryoko were gripping their sides while laughing uproariously. Tenchi caught his breath for second so he could gasp out, "You should've seen them run!" That comment sent them into further fits of hysterical laughter.

Ryoko shook her head while still giggling. "You little devil, you seem like you're proud of yourself."

Wiping his eyes, his laughter finally died down. "Well normally I wouldn't be, but this couple was really stuck up. They were bossing around my grandpa, telling him exactly how they wanted him to do the ceremony and stuff like that."

"Stuck up, you say? Were they as bad as Ayeka?" Ryoko jovially inquired.

Tenchi frowned slightly while prodding the embers with a long branch. "I never understand why you two can't make an effort to get along."

The cyan haired girl snorted in derision. "For one thing, she's trying to steal you away from me."

Tenchi let out a tired sigh. "I'm not 'yours' or anyone elses, I'm my own person. I just don't like to see the people I care about fight with eachother."

Ryoko looked away from Tenchi and into the vast expanse of wilderness, she'd heard the same line from Tenchi time and time again, and didn't feel like another lecture now. She idly noticed that a thick fog was now settling in, giving the slightly chilling effect of ghostly walls closing in around them.

Tenchi brushed aside some dead leaves near the fire before taking a glance at the seemingly uninterested face of Ryoko. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I think it's important. I don't hardly remember much about my mother, but from the little I do recall, and what I've heard from my dad, is that she was a very caring person who always stressed the value of getting along with others. You never know if something bad is going to happen, and you might end up never getting another chance to let the people you care about know how you feel about them. And then all you'll be left with is regrets that all you did was squabble." he said in a sagely manner.

She waved her hand dismissively at him. "Ayeka and I enjoy our little fights, we'd be bored without them."

"What about Washu? Like it or not, she is your mother, and you two seem to have a very strained relationship." he commented.

Ryoko's mood instantly darkened. "That's a very different situation. As far as I'm concerned, I have no mother."

Tenchi's shoulders slumped upon hearing her last remark. "I just don't understand why things have to be that way. I lost my mother when I was very young, and I would like nothing more than to have a second chance with her. You have that second chance Ryoko, you lost your mother too, but now she's back. Maybe you two can..."

"NO! We can't!" Ryoko shouted out, immediately silencing Tenchi.

The golden eyed girl stared at the flames in front of her, a steely expression etched on her face. Tenchi opened his mouth to speak again, but she once more interrupted him. "I'll sit with her at the dinner table, I'll watch soap opera's with her, but I won't 'talk' with her, and I won't be her daughter." she said firmly while looking over towards the confused boy. "You just wouldn't understand, Tenchi." she added quietly.

Tenchi cast a defeated look at the stern woman, she seemed to leave no room for a differing opinion on this issue. "I really think that Washu does care about you. She may be a little strange at times, but I think if the two of you talk things out, you can work past your differences.

_He's too nice sometimes, always believing everything can turn out alright. _Ryoko thought while chuckling a hollow laugh. "You really think she cares about me?" she inquired.

He nodded his head silently, in response to which she gave him a wry smirk. "She doesn't care one bit about me, end of story." she solemnly declared.

"Ryoko, I think that deep down, she wants to be a mother to you." Tenchi insisted.

That last remark finally set her off, and with anger coursing through her veins she lept to her feet. "She wants to be a mother to me? Bullshit! If she wanted to be a mother to me, she wouldn't give me the kind of crap that she does!" she barked at him while beginning to walk around the campfire.

Tenchi was growing ever more nervous around the increasingly angry woman, but gathered his resolve and said, "I know she makes fun of you sometimes..."

She whirled about, her eyes wild with the fury brought about by memories of the past. "It's more than that! So much more..." she mumbled while pacing back and forth for a bit before stopping to face off into the wilderness. A side effect of her anger was that her mouth was moving faster than her mind, and she was quickly losing the ability to get herself under control. "A real mother would try to understand their daughter, a real mother would try to make her daughter happy, Washu's done nothing of the sort. She mocks me at every chance she gets, never once supporting me on _anything_!" she bitterly spat.

For one moment, with the orange glow of the crackling fire illuminating her snarling visage, she looked every bit as fearsome as the old demon legend had said. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Ryoko had a great deal of rage bottled up when it came to Washu, and Tenchi resolved to sit back and listen, hoping it would help ease the burden on her. Ryoko spun around on her heel and stared up into the night sky. "You know what really gets me? Is the fact that we share this mental link, and that she can rummage around and find out all my deepest feelings. But she only uses that info to get under my skin, to piss me off, and to hurt me in any way she can. You know a _real_ mother wouldn't try to seduce the only man her daughter ever cared about!" she shouted out into the air, emotions she held back were now barreling through her like a freight train, and she couldn't stop it, no matter how hard she tried.

She snarled while once more resuming her wanderings around the blazing campfire, her fists spasmodically clenching on their own. "She doesn't give a damn about me! What she wants is some little baby to call her 'mama' so that she can feel special. It's _always_ been about what SHE wants! NEVER what I want! And there's more..." she added barely above a whisper while pinching her brow, struggling to withhold the tears that were destined to fall.

Turning away from Tenchi, so that he wouldn't see the glistening moisture brimming in her eyes, or the quivering of her bottom lip, she spoke up once more, "One night, a few weeks after I assimilated with Zero, the little bitch tied me up in her lab, and left me there for hours all alone. It was dark, and it was cold, just like that damn cave was, and I hated it. I called out to her to let me down, but she just left me there. And then...after awhile, I...started to cry." she exhaled deeply, sniffling a moment before continuing, "So I started crying, and pleading for her to release me, I even called her mommy, hoping she would let me go. But she didn't, and eventually after who knows how many hours, I passed out from exhaustion. When I woke up, I was alone in her lab, but I wasn't restrained anymore, so I got the hell out of there. She _knew _that I hated the dark and the cold and being alone, she knew it all along! And the bitch did it anyway! But you know the worst part though? I later found out she videotaped the entire thing! She was watching me the whole time, _laughing_ at me! A REAL MOTHER WOULDN'T DO THAT!" She screamed out, her voice echoing throughout the wilderness, seeming to bring the entire forest to a standstill.

Tenchi felt utterly paralyzed, he had no idea how to respond to her emotional outburst. So he sat silently, his mouth slightly agape, and tried to swallow the lump that had grown in his throat. His mind demanded he say something, _anything_ to help her, but his mouth couldn't form any words, so he merely watched as she stood there with her head bowed, taking several deep breaths.

Sucking in another lung-full of air, Ryoko became aware of a stinging pain in her right palm. Unclenching her fist, she duly noted the streaks of blood running down her hand from where her nails had punctured the skin. Wiping away the moisture around her eyes, she wondered why she had opened up to Tenchi like that. _So now he knows. It's funny, I thought I'd be more embarrassed about that little display. Maybe I'm just fed up with the amount of bullshit I've had to go through lately._

She didn't really feel relieved or ashamed, she just felt emotionally drained, tired of all the rage, the barriers, the pain. Slowly turning around, she quietly sat down on the ground. "I spent more than a week totally ignoring her, refusing to be in the same room even. But then Sasami came to me, she was upset, saying all the tension was making her sad. So I told her that everything was gonna be fine, and I just buried my feelings and acted like everything was normal." she said in a much more calm tone than before.

Tenchi finally managed to get his mouth to work. "I...I'm..." he lamely stuttered.

Ryoko gave Tenchi a weary smile. "You don't need to apologize Tenchi, you didn't do anything wrong. I'll be alright." she said.

Glad to see that she seemed to be feeling slightly better, Tenchi nodded his head silently while fiddling with a loose thread on his jacket. Many emotions tumbled around in him, such as pity for Ryoko, frustration at his inability to help her, some anger at Washu for her actions. 

But Tenchi knew cooler heads needed to prevail, and he swiftly found what he felt to be an appropriate response, "Obviously, you and Washu's problems are deeper than I originally thought. But I think you need to tell her how you feel about the things she's done to you. Washu has been through a lot of pain in her life, and I think you know more than anyone what that can do to a person. Sometimes people are so wrapped up in their own internal sufferings, that their personalities can become warped, and a lot of times they fail to see the effects of their actions on others. You have to let her know how she's been hurting you. What's the worst that can happen? At best, maybe she'll see the light and hopefully try to better herself. Holding in this animosity is only going to lead to something terrible happening further down the road."

She shrugged her shoulders while lazily rubbing her eyes. "Maybe you're right." she muttered.

And so once more, the blanket of silence fell upon the two of them, and the denizens of the forest were only ones making any sounds. He recalled a moment which seemed like ages ago, when he was alone with Ayeka in a wood shed. It was shortly after her arrival, and she had been broken up over the thought of Yosho's death, leaving him in the awkward position of trying to brighten her mood. Crying women weren't something he was used to dealing with, so his efforts to cheer her up left much to be desired. Yet here he was again, with a girl who could use some comforting.

She let out a ragged breath before casting her gaze towards the cold hard ground. "Sometimes Tenchi, I just sit there and wonder why I've had to have such a shitty life. What did I do to deserve being Kagato's puppet for thousands of years? I never had a chance to have a normal life. Hell I never even had a childhood, I was 'born' looking just as I do now. You're the only good thing that's ever been in my life."

His eyes widened a bit at her last remark, but he quickly composed himself in order to respond, "Sometimes we have to go through hardships in order to find the good things in life. Personally I like to think everything happens for a reason." he said while running a hand through his hair.

Ryoko cocked her head to the side while looking at Tenchi with a strange smile. "So maybe I went through all those things so I could get the chance to be with you? Afterall, if it wasn't for Kagato, Yosho would never had locked me away, and then I'd never have gotten the opportunity to meet you. I guess that makes you my destiny." she added slyly.

Suddenly finding the forest floor more interesting than meeting her gaze, he dragged a stick through the dirt while shrugging his shoulders.

She chuckled while reclining back until she was laying down with her hands behind her head. A small plume of smoke wafted over towards her, filling her nostrils with the scent of burning wood, something which she found strangely soothing. _I never realized talking could make you so tired._ she thought while feeling her heavy eyelids slowly close on their own volition. As she looked back on this night, a sense of calm and warmth spread throughout her. She felt closer emotionally to Tenchi than she ever had before, something which was bound to bring pleasant dreams to her that night. 

Meanwhile, Tenchi threw one last batch of dried up branches onto the fire in an effort to keep it going. Casting his gaze towards his now sleeping companion, he noted the peaceful expression on her face with relief. He had been fearful the emotionally draining evening would wear on her, but she seemed to be taking it alright. _She's certainly resilient, that's for sure. Most people would probably go insane after going through the hardships she's been through in her life._

He smiled softly as he watched the girl begin to lightly snore, a lock of her cyan hair draped across her face gave her a sort of unkempt beauty. After a few moments of watching her while quietly letting his thoughts drift, he yawned loudly, and decided to take Ryoko's example and turn in for the night. Brushing aside some stray twigs which would hinder an attempt at a comfortable rest, he laid down on the dirt with a small sigh. It wasn't long before the soothing warmth of the nearby fire and the almost musical sounds of nature helped bring about his slumber.

  


***

  


_Blackness surrounds me, thick and oppressive, I can't see a single thing._

_I try to blink, but find I have no eyelids. I can't feel anything, my body is seemingly nonexistent._

_A thousand questions swirl around, answers are also seemingly nonexistent._

_"The answers are within." a feminine voice whispers to me._

_The answers? To which questions?_

_"Find the rhythm." it tells me._

_What rhythm? What's going on?_

_"Only in the darkness, shall hope spring forth." the voice says. This isn't making any sense! Why does this have to be so confusing?!_

_"Find the rhythm." it repeats._

_I don't understand! I don't..._

"...understand." Tenchi mumbled as he woke up in a cold sweat. Rapidly blinking his eyes, he sat upright while gasping for breath. _That dream was so strange, yet so vivid._ he thought to himself while wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. After a moment, he finally caught his breath and laid his weary body once more upon the ground. Despite the peculiar nature of his dream, he reasoned that returning to sleep was more important.

It didn't take very long for the comforting embrace of sleepiness to settle upon Tenchi. Yet when it seemed he was mere moments from drifting off, the rustling noise caused by a flock of birds flying away caught his attention. He rolled over onto his side and inwardly grumbled at his bad luck. A moment later, his ears picked up a faint crunching sound coming from the tree's. Despite his groggy state, the memories of being attacked by that pack of animals earlier was fresh in his mind. Springing up into a sitting position once more, his eyes adjusted to the relative darkness around him. The only real light was a glow coming from the embers of the earlier fire.

Crawling over towards Ryoko, he gently shook her shoulder. "Ryoko, wake up." he said urgently.

The sleeping former pirate groaned something unintelligible while pressing her eyelids tighter together in an effort to block out what was going on. Tenchi sighed and stood up, quickly looking all around himself. _Of course, the fire! They'll probably stay away from it._ he thought to himself while quickly prodding the embers. As he bent over to gather some dead leaves and twigs from the ground, a sharp pain lanced throughout the back of his neck. Staggering forward a few steps, he reached his hand behind his neck only to find a small dart lodged into it. His vision began to blur while the rest of his senses started to spiral downward as well, and it wasn't long before rational thought became impossible.

Stumbling around, he tripped over Ryoko's sleeping form, causing him to unceremoniously tumble face-first into the ground. The disturbance finally caused Ryoko to wake up, and she immediately knew something was wrong. Quickly vanquishing her sleepiness, she sat up while her eyes darted around her. Her night vision was superior to that of normal Earthlings, so she had no trouble in spotting Tenchi's now unconcious form next to her. Her heart lept into her throat as she saw this, and she quickly rushed to his side.

"Tenchi? Are you alright? What's wrong?" she nervously asked while shaking the boy.

She could still hear his steady breathing, but that was little comfort to the now frantic girl. The rustling of nearby leaves along with the crunching of branches caught her attention, and she soon realized they were not alone. Leaping to her feet, she narrowed her eyes while adopting a fighting stance. "Alright! Come on out!" she yelled.

A moment later, two stinging sensations were felt on the back of her leg and her shoulder. Growling, she reached back and yanked out the metallic darts, tossing them to the ground. Due to her unique biochemistry, the chemicals injected into her didn't affect her as they would a normal person.

"Is that the best you can do?!" she defiantly shouted while trying to pick up where the attackers may be using her keen hearing.

She heard a low thud sound from behind her, to which she twirled around instantly, only to discover a small cylinder on the ground. There wasn't much time for an examination of the object, as a dense smoke began to issue forth from it. She snarled in frustration as now her vision was obsured. Several sets of rapidly approaching footsteps were heard, causing her to instinctively try to form an energy saber. Yet the only thing which she could manage to form was a few pathetic sparks, as a wave of diziness swept over her. A blunt object smashed into the back of her head, sending her tumbling to the ground as she was knocked out cold.

Eight figures loomed around the fallen pair, each one was dressed in black uniforms while sporting a backpack along with high powered goggles. After checkling both Tenchi and Ryoko's pulse, one of the figures stood up and pulled a sleek metallic disk from a pocket on his shirt.

"Headquarters, this is Commander Folqui of strike force one reporting in. The mission has been a success, both targets have been acquired and are unharmed. No casualties on our team." he spoke into the object.

After a moment of static, a voice came out from the receiver, "Good work, bring them back to headquarters as soon as possible." it ordered.

  


End of chapter 4

***

Authors Notes: I apologize if the pace seems to be going too slowly. I wanted this to be a sort of 'character development' chapter.


	5. Living on the edge

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo and all the characters in it belong to AIC and Pioneer Corp. I'm not making any money off this fanfic either.

Authors Notes: And so we move onto chapter five. As always, I appreciated the feedback I received, as it inspires me to write more. I had a nasty case of writers block on this chapter, but I managed to work through it. Chapter 6 is nearly finished, and I hope to have it up within a few days.

  


**Bang the drum slowly**

Chapter 5: Living on the edge

  


Far outside the galaxy, far outside the reach or knowledge of Jurai or any of the other kingdoms which inhabit the Milky Way galaxy, lies a small planet near a black hole. The planets name is Bonkowa, and it is a place that has harbored a bountiful amount of life for eons. Yet in it's entire history, it has never been host to any life as unique as two people named Tenchi Masaki and Ryoko Hakubi. While the two of them ended up on this little planet quite by accident, their arrival did not go unnoticed by the other intelligent species residing on Bonkowa.

Deep within the planet sits underground cities so vast that they can house millions upon millions of people, almost none of them ever venturing to the planets surface. Within one part of the planet is a location known by only a select few individuals, it is the home to the those who rule this empire, it is the heart of the government. Within these secret rooms are the men and women who make the decisions that decide the fate of millions of lives, and on this day, they are dealing with an issue that could change the future of their kingdom for generations.

With quick purposeful steps, a lone figure marched down an empty corridor to his destination. Were one to look at him, they would probably never guess what sort of authority he wielded. His weathered, gaunt face held an emotionless stare as he quickly walked right past two burly guards who knew full well of his identity. The pale skinned man strode into a grandiose room which was a far cry from the sterile, plain walls of the hallway leading to this room. Paintings adorned the wall, and a crytaline chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting it's glorious light across the entire expanse. In the rooms center was a large wooden table, which seated the various members of the empires government, and currently all but one of the seats was occupied.

"Lord Dinaka, please be seated." said a strong bearded fellow at the head of the table.

The older man nodded imperceptibly. "As you wish, Mister Chairman." he respectfully replied while sitting down in the well cushioned chair.

The man who was the chairman of the council stood tall as he looked over his assembled officials. "Ladies and gentlemen, as I'm sure you're aware of by now, the operation to contain the two foreign intruders was a total success. The two detainee's are currently being held pending their interrogation, which Lord Dinaka will be in charge of. Now, the two captives have already had blood and tissue samples taken, and if you didn't read the advanced copies of the reports, they are in front of you right now. I will allow Lord Balai to summarize what we know so far about these two individuals."

As the chairman sat down, a large, portly man sprung to his feet and cleared his throat. "On the afternoon of the 18th meta-cycle, our high sensitivity radars detected the arrival of an incredible energy. At first, we believed this to be either some form of attack by the M'kha, or an anomoly in our devices. Yet with further studies using our more advanced equipment, we discovered that this signal was being emitted by what seemed to be one individual, who was accompanied by another person who had a far lower energy reading. In council decision number 1893793, it was decided that these two represented a threat to the government of Jhanel. In a subsequent vote, it was decided that these two were to be captured and analyized based upon the possible knowledge which could be gleamed from them. In council decision number 1893794 we chose to use our solar energy satellite array in conjuntion with land based receivers to see if we could drain this power. We were more successful than we had hoped, and our efforts made their capture an easy task."

His chubby fingers picked up a small stack of papers stapled together and thumbed through it. "I have here the preliminary data on these two figures, one male and one female, and I must say none of us were quite expecting what we found. Despite early suspicions, it seems evident that they are not agents of the M'kha, what race they do belong to is as of yet, unknown. Our first major surprise was that neither of them were emitting the intense energy signal we detected. It was in fact, a gem that is located upon the left wrist of the female which we detected. The gems origins and makeup are unknown, as we haven't yet removed it from the woman. Despite the success of our array system in draining this gem, we were surprised to discover that there seems to be some sort of untapped power still residing within it."

Pausing for a drink of water, he then went on, "While we now know that the gem was the primary source of power that was detected on the 18th, we also know that the individuals themselves have unusual traits and abilities. And that brings us to our next major surprise. When we did a workup on the blood samples from the female, we were amazed to discover that she seems to be an artificial construct combining two species of creatures. The result of this artificial combination gives the female incredible strength and agility, along with impressive regenerative abilities. Now the male on the other hand, seems to be a relatively normal person. He is of mixed race, his ancestors apparently breeding with a rather similar race in the past. Yet we did notice he emitted an energy reading which held similarities to the gems, but the extent of his power is also unknown." Bowing his head quickly, he sat down as he finished.

No sooner had he finished, did a younger man with short cropped blond hair motion that he wished to be heard. The chairmain nodded his head silently, giving his assent. The young man flipped through the report to re-read a paragraph before standing up. "Since we seem to be making the assumption that these two are not members of the M'kha, what are the protocols for their treatment going to be?"

The chairman stroked his beard for a moment before replying, "We are still uncertain as to whether or not their intentions are peaceful. Yet even if they are peaceful, I believe we must still deal with them as a hostile threat. For as we all know, the M'kha have recently begun a substantial military buildup and have also commenced in maneuvering their forces in preparation for an assault. These individuals we have captured may provide a vital edge in the likely battles that are to come. Already, our top scientists are working on a means to weaponize the massive energy we have marshalled from that gem. So I want no measure left off the table in these interrogations, do whatever you must if you think it could aid us in the war that is to come." 

  


***

  


As the thick fog of unconciousness slowly lifted from Ryoko's psyche, she became acutely aware of a dull throbbing pain at the back of her head. All of her memories had not yet surfaced in her groggy state, so she was quite shocked to discover some cold metallic shackles were clamped along her wrists and ankles, keeping her pinned against a wall. Her golden eyes quickly fluttered open as drowsiness gave way to fear. She was surrounded by darkness, thick and oppressive, it enveloped her completely. 

Quickly, her heart rate and breathing increased substantially, which was soon followed by a burst of panic. This was all too familiar to her, her mind was rapidly assaulted with chilling memories of the cave, and her mothers laboratory. Yet through all this, a voice of reason spoke out in her head, telling her to just calm down and try to figure out her surroundings based upon her other senses. While her ears were unable to discern any sounds besides that of her own breathing, her nostrils picked up the noxious scent of burnt flesh. It was a smell she knew by heart, for her energy sword always seared the flesh as it sliced through someone, producing the most foul of odors.

As rationality began to win over her early fright, she tried to recollect just how she ended up in this place. It only took a moment to piece together the events which led up to her predicament, which led to a new surge of fear and anger. _They must have gotten Tenchi as well. If they've hurt him, I swear I'll tear those bastards limb from limb. _Closing her golden eyes, she inwardly bemoaned her current situation. _It's pretty ironic. I'm one of the most powerful creatures in the galaxy, yet I've probably been taken captive more often than anyone else._ _That's the story of my life though, another battle lost. _Her lips curved into a wry smile as she thought of the phrase she told Tenchi that night on the school. _Can't anything go right in my life? It's not enough that I had to be the servant of a lunatic for 5,000 years and compete with an army of other women for the only man I've ever loved, no, I also have to be captured and chained up like an animal as well._ Her sarcastic thoughts did little to ease the fear and anxiety she was feeling.

A sensation of utter helplessness washed over her, just like so long ago onboard the Souja during her years of working with Kagato, just like during the battle on that same ship that would take place many millenia later, just like the time she hung limply in her mothers lab, alone in the dark. She hated these powerless feelings, she was powerless for too long, and it was only in the last year did she finally gain a sense of control over her life. But now once more, someone else held all the cards and controlled her fate.

No sooner had she thought that, did a glaringly bright spotlight suddenly beam down upon her. It was concentrated enough so that only herself was illuminated, the rest of her mysterious cell was still shrouded in darkness.

"So, the sleeper has awoken." A voice which seemed to come from all directions said. Ryoko whipped her head around in a frenzy to see if she could identify just who had spoken that to her. She could neither see nor smell the voices owner, so she assumed whoever it was must be outside the room, and that there must be some speakers in her cell transmitting what he says.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Dinaka, an agent for the government of Jhanel, you need not know any more than that. Now what might your name be?" he asked dryly.

She snarled in contempt at the mysterious voice, staying silent all the while. After a moment of silence, the man called Dinaka spoke once more, "Not feeling very talkative I see, that's understandable."

Feeling a surge of rage boil through her, Ryoko strained against the bonds that held her. "Listen up, I don't care who you are, or what you want. You better release me and Tenchi or else..."

"Or else what?" he interrupted, pausing a moment before continuing, "As you recall, you were unable to defend yourself against our strike force earlier. Now what makes you think you stand any better chance against me while you're restrained?" a hint of arrogant pride crept into his voice as he finished.

"You're the bastards who have been draining my power." she stated with seething hatred.

"Very perceptive of you. I must say our array of solar energy collecting satellites did a marvelous job when adapted to draining you, they outperformed our estimates."

She kept her mouth shut while staring ahead, squinting her eyes due to the almost blinding light pouring on her. 

"Still refuse to identify yourself? That is not a wise choice."

Despite the warning, Ryoko still remained silent. A faint buzzing sound caught her attention, and a moment later, blinding pain erupted all throughout her body. Ryoko's body convulsed violently as torrential energy currents assaulted her. She howled out once in agony as the burning pain now rocketed throughout her entire being. During this torture, she invariably recalled the many times Kagato had performed a similar type of punishment upon her. Despite her familiarity with the type of assault, it was nonetheless excruciating, and every second it went on felt like a lifetime.

Finally, the high voltage torture subsided, leaving an exhausted and pain wracked Ryoko in it's wake. "Maybe now you'll be a little more forthcoming. I recall inquiring about your identity earlier." he reminded.

Panting slightly, she lifted her head up with an expression of unrestrained hatred on her face. "My name is Ryoko." she said in something akin to a growl.

"Much better. Now, that young man who was with you, what about his name?"

She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "His name is Tenchi Masaki." she murmured.

"Where are the both of you from?" he asked neutrally.

"Earth."

If she could have seen him, she bet he probably raised an eyebrow after hearing that. "There is no such record of any planet known as Earth in our databanks." he said coldly.

"Miss Ryoko, I will ask you once more. Where are you from?" Dinaka asked slowly.

"Earth." she answered again while gritting her teeth.

Dinaka let out a sigh. "Are you going to explain where that planet is or must I once more resort to more unpleasant means of forcing your answer?"

Quickly trying to prevent another session of electrocution, she quickly said, "Maybe the reason Earth isn't in your databanks is because it might be in another galaxy for all I know."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked curiously.

Relieved that he seemed to be considering her words, she continued, "We came to this damn planet through some sort of a wormhole. We were flying along in a ship, when there was an accident which caused a near engine failure, and then we started getting sucked towards a black hole. I had left the ship in order to repair it, but I ended up getting pulled into the wormhole." she answered non-chalantly.

"Do you expect me to believe that you managed to survive the gravitational strains of a wormhole?" he asked mockingly.

She paused for a moment as she considered her response. She knew that she couldn't tell them about Tenchi's ability to form light hawk wings, for the amount of torture and experimentation they would do to him would be too much to handle. Ryoko could plainly see that these people would use any means in order to get what they want. Using some fast thinking, she finally said, "Yes, I do." she replied in a cocky manner.

"That gem of your does contain quite a bit of power." Dinaka admitted.

"You bet your sorry ass it does!" she boasted with pride.

"Tell me, why have you not tapped in fully to the gems power?" the voice inquired.

Ryoko's eyes widened as she struggled to understand what he meant. "What are you talking about?" she asked slowly, curiousity evident in her voice.

"Our analysis of your gem indicated that it had untapped stores of energy, quite complex and unique as well."

Furrowing her brow, Ryoko stared ahead blankly while comprehending just what the implications were. "I never knew about that." she muttered more to herself than to Dinaka.

After a moment, the Jhanel agent broke the silence, "I suppose your creator would know the answer to my question." Ryoko's eyes widened in shock as she heard his remark.

"Oh don't act so surprised. Our tests revealed that you were an artificial construct, created in a lab somewhere. Was your designer also the maker of that gem?"

Doing her best to shrug her shoulders, she tried to maintain an air of calm around her. "From what I understand, she doesn't know the origin of my gems." she answered in a casual manner.

"So there are other gems like the one you have?"

She nodded her head silently.

"Where are they?" he quickly asked.

She expected he would be rather interested in that. "They're onboard that ship I was on, and who knows how many light years away that is." was her lazy reply.

"Why are they not embedded on you as this one was?" he asked in a manner suggesting he wasn't amused with her flippant attitude.

That question made Ryoko pause in contemplation for a moment. _Why hasn't Tenchi given me back my other gems? _Her more self confident side brushed off the question, insisting that the only reason Tenchi hadn't yet returned her gems was because she hadn't asked him to yet. Yet those deep seated insecurities would not be quelled so easily, and silent fears raged within her.

Noticing that she had been silent for quite some time, Ryoko cleared her throat and adopted a more neutral demeanor. "The owner of the gems has yet to give them to me." she robotically replied.

"So is it your creator who owns the gems? Is it that boy you were with, is he your master?" the voice asked.

Ryoko inwardly seethed with anger but retained her outward appearance of neutrality. "I am my own master." she said with pride. She hated the implication of being subservient to someone else, she spent 5,000 years being a servant to Kagato, and would be damned if she would ever be someone elses slave again.

"If you are your own master, then why are you not in possession of the other gems? Nevermind, you need not answer that question. I understand that it must be difficult for you to accept your position as an inferior being." Dinaka casually remarked.

"SHUT UP!" Ryoko screamed. She was sick of the voice, sick of its arrogant pride and mocking mannerisms, it reminded her so much of how Kagato acted. "Why dont you come out and fight me you damn coward!" she challenged.

"Miss Ryoko, I am only seeking to obtain information from you." the voice said in an innocent manner.

She snorted in contempt and closed her eyes in an attempt to calm her raging anger and fear. Silence hung thick in the air, something she was quite thankful for at the moment, seeing as how infuriating that voice was. Yet this brief respite was short lived, for a low whirring sound soon caught Ryoko's attention. Snapping her eyes open, she paled upon seeing a large robotic arm retracting from the roof, lowering itself towards her. Instead of a human like hand at the end of it however, it seemed to be something like a swiss army knife, with many different tools all bundled neatly together.

"There is one other thing I wish to obtain from you." Dinaka said slowly, just before a scissor device protruded from the mechanical arm.

Gulping loudly, Ryoko watched in nervous anxiety as the scissors moved towards her left wrist, near the placement of her gem. Delicately, the blades caught ahold of her dress' fabric surrounding the ruby red gem and slowly snipped away. Ryoko let out a slightly relieved breath as it appeared to be making an effort to avoid hurting her. Once a small square piece of fabric around the gem was cut away, the scissors retracted within the robotic arm.

The next tool that emerged however, sent her fears spiraling higher than ever before. A lethally sharp scalpel gleamed in the spotlights rays, and ever so slowly, it moved closer and closer to her skin. As the cold blade made contact with her, Ryoko tightened her eyes shut in preparation for what she knew was to come. Methodically, the razor sharp knife pierced the skin, sinking into her flesh deeply, causing her to let out a strangled gasp of agony. That gasp turned into a full fledged shriek as the blade began to move, the slicing causing a river of blood to issue forth from Ryoko.

Normally, her body would be quickly healing the wound over, but her regenerative abilities had been weakened by the gems draining. So now the incision lingered, causing agonizing pain to lance throughout her arm, prolonging her ear splitting screams. After what seemed like an endless amount of time, the scalpel completed it's incision around the gem, and with one final gouging motion, the gem was extricated from her wrist, bringing forth one last shriek from Ryoko.

Now coupled with the excruciating pain was a heavy exhaustion brought about by her power source being removed. Too tired to even scream anymore, she hung limply in her shackles while the blood ran down her arm like a river, soaking her dress crimson in its path. After a moment of panting heavily, the last reserves of her energy faded away, causing her to slip into a deep sleep, just like she had done 700 years earlier after her battle with Yosho.

For a time, the only sound echoing throughout the room was that of Ryoko's slow breathing and of her blood dripping down to the floor. Yet this quiet scene changed as a metallic door slid open, revealing the pale form of Dinaka standing in the doorway. Walking purposefully over towards the comatose space pirate, he quickly retrieved the stained gem held in the robotic arms clutches. Without a second glance, he turned on his heel and strode out of the cell, which soon became blanketed in total darkness as the lights were shut off. 

Outside of Ryoko's dank prison cell, Dinaka marched quickly down a complex weave of hallway paths. A younger, heavyset man with long red hair jogged up towards him. "Hello Lord Balai." Dinaka greeted stiffly after turning his head around briefly to see who was approaching him.

The chubby fellow slowed down until he matched his companions pace. "Lord Dinaka, may I..." his query was cut short as Dinaka interrupted him, "Here's the gem." he said while turning to face his larger companion as he reached into his pockets. He produced the small brown pouch and handed it over to Balai. "There you are, I'm sure you'll want to rush that back to the lab." Dinaka commented.

Balai seemed to almost radiate with eager anticipation as he gazed within the bag and at the shiny gem. "Oh yes, I'll be doing that right away." Looking back up at his older friend, he cocked his head to the side. "Do you think this gem really contained enough power to counter-act the gravitational forces of a wormhole?"

"No, I do not. I think she was lying, trying to protect someone." he answered plainly.

The portly fellow shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand..." Before he could go on however, Dinaka interrupted, "The truth shall be revealed in due time."

Balai exhaled loudly before asking, "Do you think you'll really get much information from him?"

Dinaka thought the question over for a moment. "The chemicals in his system will keep him in a rather groggy state for some time, but he should be able to tell me what I need to know. And if he resists me...well I know ways to bring him out of his shell." he remarked with a hint of a smile on his face.

  


***

  


_"Am I...home?" Tenchi asked to himself in bewilderment. He was standing at a worn out dirt path, surrounded by tree's swaying in the winds. He frowned while shaking his head. "Is this real?" he whispered._

_Deciding upon exploration rather than contemplation, he embarked upon the same path as he did every day coming home from school. Nothing seemed out of place, all the same old towering tree's in all the same old places. Slowly, his fears ebbed as the familiarity of his surroundings sunk in. He knew this must be some illusion, or a dream, but it seemed to be safe enough._

_"Welcome home, Tenchi." a sweet voice came from behind him._

_Whirling about on his heel, he saw the source of the voice to be that of Ryoko. She was standing proudly, with her hands on her hips while a beaming smile stretched across her face. Her modest green dress which was set with golden trim and a red sash fluttered in the brisk breeze that swept across the land. There was something about the look on her face, something utterly...radiant. There was no mischievous glint in her eyes, no seductive smirk, no sly remarks, only a quiet smile which exuded a content quality._

_With a light giggle, she phased right in front of him and proceeded to drape her arms gently around his neck. His heartbeat quickened while his feet seemed to turn to lead as she brought her face closer and closer to his. His mind briefly wondered why he hadn't run yet or shoved her off, but those thoughts vanished along with any others as she brushed her soft lips against his in a feathery kiss that made his pulse skyrocket. All of his nerves danced with a vibrancy he never knew could exist._

_After only a brief moment, she moved her lips up to his ear. "I missed you." she whispered to him._

_He realized this must be some sort of dream, but it seemed so real, he could even feel her incredibly warm breath bathing his ear. His mouth began to move about in a vain attempt at speaking. "I...wha..." was all he could manage._

_Keeping her arms around his neck still, Ryoko moved backed so she could look at his face. "Come on darling, my soup is getting cold, let's walk back home now." she cheerfully suggested._

_His only reaction was to nod his head dumbly while gazing at her. Removing her arms from his neck, she took his hand in hers while slowly walking along beside him, her eyes drifting up towards the clear blue sky. With her gaze still turned upwards, Ryoko sighed contentedly. "It was on a summers day like this, wasn't it Tenchi?"_

_Tenchi tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"_

_A large smile grew on Ryoko's face. "When you took me out on a walk on this path and finally said that you loved me. I remember I nearly fainted when you told me, and you were so nervous you were stuttering like crazy." she chuckled at the recollection._

_Tenchi could only gape in shock at what she told him. Before he had much time to think anything over, she started talking again, "It's hard to believe sometimes that we've come all this way. When I think back to my past, and the life I used to lead, I never thought I could be this happy."_

_Tenchi blinked in shock at the woman before him, unable to form any response to her. Ryoko let out another sigh before shaking her head and looking into his dark brown eyes. "Enough reminiscing, let's focus on tonight. I thought maybe we'd have a little candelight dinner, watch the full moon rise, drink a little sake, and then..." her sly smile left little doubt as to where her train of thought was heading._

_Blushing slightly, Tenchi scratched his head while looking off towards the swaying tree's. "This is sure some nice weather we're having, isn't it?"_

_Ryoko nodded her head in agreement. "Hanako wanted to stay out all day and run around, but she only lasted a half hour before she needed to take a nap." she laughed softly as she finished._

_"Hanako?" he asked in confusion._

_"Our daughter, silly." she said playfully while jabbing him on the shoulder._

_"Our daughter..." he whispered to himself in awe. Stopping in his tracks, he disengaged his hand from hers while he searched about his pockets furiously. Finding a plain brown wallet, he hurriedly flipped it open and immediately gasped at what he saw._

_The photo that stared out at him showed himself sitting on the family couch, flanked by a grinning Ryoko who had her arms wrapped around his waist while pressing her cheek against his. But what really stunned Tenchi was the fact that there was another person in the picture, a little girl with long black hair and orange colored catlike eyes. She couldn't have been more than five years old, and her face looked much like his mothers did in her younger days, but the characteristics of Ryoko were also readily apparant._

_Tenchi's feet continued to walk on as his wide eyes were transfixed upon the image of his family. His smile was so full and proud in that photo, and the joyous expressions on Hanako and Ryoko's faces lept out at him. So engrossed in this photo was he that when a loud clap of thunder echoed across the land, he almost didn't even notice it._

_Looking up, he noted with confusion that Ryoko had stopped following him, and was standing in the middle of the path. Her expression lost all of it's joy and mirth as she stared up at the ominous dark clouds that were rolling in. Tenchi cocked his head to the side in puzzlement as he gazed at the now seemingly melancholy woman. "What's wrong?" he asked with concern._

_With slumped shoulders, her stare remain fixed upon the approaching storm clouds. Tenchi took a glance up at them and was startled by the fact that they were nearly black in color. It was a gorgeous day merely moments ago, but now it looked as if the sky itself was going to pour upon them. "Ryoko, we better hurry back to the house before it rains." He also wanted to hurry home to see the little girl in this photo, he wanted to see Hanako in person._

_Finally turning her eyes towards Tenchi's once more, Ryoko still stood in the middle of the path, not moving an inch. "It would've been nice, wouldn't it?" she asked softly while gesturing towards the picture in Tenchi's hand._

_"What are you talking about?" he asked in bewilderment. The wind had picked up force as the suns rays were now blocked by the imposing cloud cover, but much to his confusion, Ryoko remained still._

_As a lone tear streaked down Ryoko's cheek, the cyan haired womans form slowly faded away, as if she were nothing more than an illusion. "RYOKO!" he screamed out in shock and terror. _

_Lightning struck a nearby tree to his left, sending a jolt in his nerves. The sky was now totally blanketed by the storm clouds, as the winds picked up to gale force. He didn't understand what was going on, something was terribly wrong with everything now, and he needed to get out of here. As he was about to return the photo clutched in his hand to his wallet, his breath caught in his throat when he saw that the picture now showed only total darkness._

Slowly, Tenchi's mind began to stumble into conciousness, the chemicals in his system making the journey quite arduous. His bloodshot eyes opened halfway, while his mind swirled in a dizzying dance of confusion. Fighting the urge to empty his stomachs contents, his foggy mind focused on his surroundings. _Why can't I move? Where am I? This light is so bright..._ he thought while squinting his blearly eyes.

"Hello Tenchi, how are you feeling? I presume you must be feeling rather unwell at the moment, due to the chemicals we used to subdue you earlier." a mysterious voice asked him.

The speakers words sliced through the dizzy haze of confusion that permeated in Tenchi's mind. Blinking his eyes rapidly, Tenchi looked about lazily for the owner of the voice. "W-who are you? Where...are you?" he muttered.

"My name is Dinaka, and I work for the government of Jhanel. My location is none of your concern."

"What happened?" he whispered to himself as he struggled to piece together the events that led up to his captivity. Memory fragments slowly filtered in, he recalled the camp fire, Ryoko's emotional outburst, Ryoko...The cyan haired womans face dominated his thoughts for a moment, as a sudden fear lurched within his chest.

"Where is she?" he asked suddenly, his voice holding a surprising amount of lucidity.

"I take it you mean your companion, Ryoko?" Dinaka inquired innocently.

"Where is she?" Tenchi was now demanding more than asking.

"She is alive, and within our jurisdiction."

Tenchi let out a long ragged breath. "Let her go." his voice tried to sound imposing, but came out sounding more like a plea than a demand.

He could almost see the smirk on Dinaka's face. "Such nobility on both of your parts. However, I'm afraid it's gone to waste, for she isn't going anywhere."

Tenchi closed his bloodshot eyes and let out a long sigh. "She's done nothing wrong, neither of us have."

"Your opinions on this matter are not relevant." Dinaka firmly replied.

Tenchi wasn't very surprised by Dinaka's answer. When his drug hazed mind finally remembered Ryoko, he had hoped against hope that she somehow managed to escape. But now it seemed that once again the two of them were being forced to deal with another apparent villian. He briefly pondered whether there would ever be a respite from these seemingly constant dangers. But those thoughts fled quickly in the face of the stark reality he was looking at now.

He strained to discern his location, but beyond the harsh glare of the spotlight shining down upon him, he could see nothing but darkness, darkness like in the dream. The memory of that bizarre dream nagged at his swirling subconcious, but he couldn't make heads or tails of it or the other dreams he had been having as of late.

"I have a few questions I'd like to ask of you, Tenchi. First off, where are you from?" Dinaka asked politely.

"Masaki shrine, outside Okayama." he mumbled.

"What planet is that on?"

"Earth." he quickly answered.

"How did you come to this planet?"

Tenchi blinked a few times before replying, "We were going to Jurai, when we encountered some problem. There was a black hole, and the ship was getting pulled in. Ryoko went to fix the ship...and then something happened to her. I went out to rescue her." he tiredly replied.

"_You_ rescued _her_?" Dinaka asked incredulously.

Tenchi nodded his head. "With the light hawk wings." he said simply. In a more sharpened state of mind, Tenchi may have chose a different answer to the question, but the chemicals in his system made complex reasoning rather difficult.

Dinaka's curiosity was piqued. "What are these 'Light hawk wings' you speak of?"

The worn out young man shrugged his shoulders. "Not really sure exactly. They're...manifestations of power." he said slowly.

"How do you summon these wings?"

Tenchi groaned while shaking his head. "I don't know, most times I can never tap into them. But sometimes when there's trouble, I can just...feel them within." This talk of the light hawk wings had given Tenchi the brief idea of attempting to summon them now to aid him. However, his foggy state of mind made focusing on even simple things a chore.

"Listen to me, boy. I will not hesitate to take any means neccessary to get the answers I seek. If you think you can hide the truth from me, you are sadly mistaken." Dinaka threatened in a low tone of voice.

The Jhanel agent returned to a more polite manner of speaking as he asked, "Tell me Tenchi, does this power truely reside within yourself?"

Tenchi nodded his head silently in response. A long moment went by, where the only sound was the unsteady breathing of the drugged young man shackled to the wall. Finally, Dinaka spoke up, "The council shall discuss these matters amongst itself for the moment. I shall return later." And with that, the glaring spotlight shut off, leaving Tenchi in the darkness once more.

The oppressive blackness that blanketed him gave him ample time to ponder his current situation. He was becoming more lucid by the moment it seemed, yet whether that would really make a difference was still unknown. He let out a ragged breath and closed his eyes. _How are we going to get out of here? Ryoko's powers seemed almost gone, and I'm in no shape to do anything. There has to be someone who can help us._

Yet Tenchi's heart was full of doubt. While he had been in his fair share of trouble in the past, things seemed bleak this time._ What did I do to deserve this? _That thought brought about a recollection of a similar query made by Ryoko the night before. She had asked the question of why she had to have lived such a terrible life. _What was it I said in response? Oh yeah, 'Sometimes we have to go through hardships in order to find the good things in life.' and that 'Maybe everything happens for a reason.'_ He scoffed at himself now at the memory of his fortune cookie style of replying to such a complex issue.

_Alright, then what's the reason for me being shackled like this? So I can find some 'good things' in my life?_ _What good could possibly come from this ordeal? _With another sigh, he chose to avoid these philosophical problems for now. Sleep seemed tempting to the worn out young man, but his anxieties wouldn't allow such a comforting luxury. Tenchi had the sinking feeling that the only luxury he was getting was perhaps a little more time to live.

  


***

  


In the beautific hall where the government of Jhanel convened in times of peace and war, a rather impromptu meeting was hurriedly being assembled. Instead of the entire council being present, this time only the top members of the empire were seated.

The imposing council chairman rose diligently and cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "Councilmen of Jhanel, we are convened here so urgently to deal with a threat to our nation and people. I was just informed moments ago, that the M'kha empire has officially launched eight detatchments of their royal armada towards our planet. Before cutting off communications with our government, they officially declared war on our people. Councilmen, I called you here because you are the best this nation has to offer, and your advice is needed."

After the chairman seated himself, Dinaka quickly stood from his chair. "Permission to speak, sir."

"Granted."

"I have assertained information from one of the captives that could be vital for victory in this new war we have entered. As has been discussed earlier, no trace of any space vessel the two could have traveled on was ever detected or recovered. In my interrogations of the captives, I was told that they traveled here not by spacecraft, but by wormhole. It was alleged that one of them possessed the power to counter-act the immense gravitational vise-grip of a wormhole."

Murmurs of disbelief rose from those assembled.

The chairman motioned for all quiet down before nodding to Dinaka. "Thank you chairman. As I was saying, it was said that one of them possessed this power. At first it seemed the female known as Ryoko was the most viable candidate, seeing as how it was her energy signal we first detected and which seemed the strongest. Yet through my interviews, I have come to believe that it is the male known as Tenchi who contains this power. He had admitted it under my questioning, and given his rather intoxicated state, I doubt he was lying to me. Even though Ryoko's gem does seem to have some sort of untapped power, I do not believe Ryoko has ever utilized this, and the energies she does tap into are far from adequate to pull off such a feat as to allow wormhole travel."

"But the male's powers seemed so insignificant compared to hers." the defense minister insisted.

Dinaka nodded his head. "Indeed, at first. However, the male is quite different. His energy is not produced by an object like a gem, it resides within himself, his own body. The significance of this may be greater than even I yet realize. Whereas unlocking the mysteries of the gem may take ages, stimulating his body to summon forth this power would be far easier."

"And how shall we do this?" The council chairman inquired.

"The key is the female, for Tenchi cares deeply for her. In my interview, Tenchi implied that this vast power, something he calls 'Light hawk wings' seem to be easier to summon forth during times of distress. So, we merely use Ryoko as the catalyst to entice his full potential to come out. And when it does, our receivers shall drink his power from him until a mere shell of a man remains." His lips curved upward into a devilish smile as he finished.

After a moment silent contemplation, the council chairman nodded his head. "Very well Lord Dinaka, you have my consent to do what you must."

Pausing to take a sip of water, he continued, "Seeing as how Ryoko's powers reside in the gem which is in our possession, she herself is now expendable."

  


End of chapter 5

  


  


  



	6. Find the rhythm

Disclaimer: I do not own Tenchi Muyo nor any of the characters in it. They belong to AIC corp. I am also not making any money off this fanfic either.

Authors notes: This will be the final chapter for this fic, it's much longer than the others, and it has some dark moments in it. I hope everyone's enjoyed the ride so far, and that the finish is all you hope it'll be.

  


**Bang the drum slowly**

Chapter 6: Find the rhythm

  


In a place where dread seemed to be the only constant, one young man was doing some lamenting of his current situation. Time alone in the dark gave Tenchi plenty of time for contemplations. Although the persistant rumblings of hunger in his stomach were sometimes distracting to his thought process. _How can my body be thinking of food at a time like this? Then again I suppose it's better than feeling like I'm gonna throw up._

It had been some time now since Tenchi awoke in this strange prison, and his body was finally getting over the after-effects of those drugs. Though he still felt slightly light headed, he found himself feeling far better than when he first woke up. 

There was another feeling that Tenchi had which he felt was far worse though than hunger, and that was helplessness. Even in his past escapades, Tenchi always felt like there was something that he could do. Only once did he recall feeling as if all hope was lost, and that was for a brief moment onboard the Souja in his battle with Kagato. In the end, Tenchi managed to put trust in himself and discover the power he held.

But now, things felt different. He couldn't really feel that burning fire within, he just felt sort of empty. He hoped that once his head finished clearing up he would be better able to harness his potential power. Right now, all it seemed Tenchi could do was hang there in his shackles and let his mind wander.

His eyes attempted to focus to see if he could make out anything in his dark surroundings, but ultimately he was unable. _I wonder if Ryoko is being held in a cell like this._ he idly wondered. That thought brought a heaviness to his heart, as he recalled his recent discovery of Ryoko's fear of the dark. Normally, Tenchi wasn't afraid of the dark, but this oppressive blackness that surrounded him was unnerving. He could only imagine how Ryoko must feel in this.

_To think she spent 700 years in a place like this._ He thought with awe. _I'd probably go nuts after 700 hours, I'll never understand how she managed to survive that and come out...well...relatively sane. _He found himself gaining a newfound respect for his cyan haired friend, but he wondered if he would ever get the chance to display that respect to her. _I can't be thinking like that, I have to think positive. Something good is bound to happen, some lucky break or something._

As his mind continued to focus on Ryoko, Tenchi felt a surge of other memories and thoughts. It was less than a year ago that he released her from her prison and brought her into his life. The thought of her being counted as one of his closest friends would've seemed like a joke during those early days. He had thought of her as being highly rude, obnoxious, one dimensional. As time went on however, he saw different sides to her personality, each one more surprising than the last. By now, he realized that the 'demon' woman was more inherently human than most people he knew. She seem uncaring and inconsiderate at one moment, yet the next moment she could risk her life at the drop of a hat for someone who mattered to her. She could seem as innocent as a newborn baby, or have the grim look of a warrior who's seen thousands slain. In effect, she was a walking contradiction in almost every way, and he was glad she was part of his life. 

Of course, it was no secret how she felt about him, as Ryoko made it painfully clear each and every day in some form or another. But other hearts were at stake, and his own heart was mired in confusion due to all the pressure's the girls put upon him. He was only 18 years old, and they were wanting a lifetime commitment from him. He hadn't seriously thought about what it'd be like to really choose one, to have a family with one of them, as he was still getting to know the girls. 

As Tenchi hung in the slightly rusted shackles, he pondered that dream he was having before he woke up in his cell. It was surreal in its startling intensity, and quite intruiging in what it was about. He had his fair share of dreams in the past about the girls, some quite lurid and erotic, but he never had anything like what he had in that dream. The tingling sensation he felt as her lips touched his, the warmth of the sun, the briskness of the wind, he could feel it all. 

But what really stuck in his mind was how Ryoko behaved, and that photo of the little girl, Hanako. The idea of settling down and living a quiet family life with the wild space pirate Ryoko seemed far fetched at first glance, but he couldn't stop wondering if that was what it would be like to be with her. Coming home every day, having her there to greet him with a smile and kiss, holding hands while talking about what their little girl did while he was at work. It was so simple, yet so...pleasant. Immediately his defense mechanisms kicked when he noted how fond his thoughts of Ryoko were becoming for a moment. _Of course I probably could have something like that if I chose any of the others as well._ Yet that thought could not erase the memories of how _alive_ he felt in that dream, being with her.

His contemplations were brought to a halt as a glaringly bright beam of light rained down upon him. He immediately squinted in pain as his eyes tried to adjust from the pitch dark to the blindingly bright.

"Hello again Tenchi, I see you're looking better." Dinaka's cold voice said.

Tenchi snorted in indignation. "Yeah, I feel real great."

"Ready for a few more questions?"

"Now wait a minute, I've got some questions I wanna ask you. Who are you people, the Jhanel? What's the reason for capturing us, and why won't you listen to what I've got to say?" Tenchi asked forcefully.

Dinaka chuckled for a moment. "Still retaining some of your fighting spirit I see. As I've made obvious from the start, you are in no position to make any demands on us."

Tenchi was at the end of his wits, as it seemed reasoning with this man was hopeless. _Why do I have to always run into the ego maniacal guys who won't listen to rational arguments?_

"Now then Tenchi, let's talk a little more about those...Light hawk wings." the Jhanel agent suggested thoughtfully.

The shackled young man frowned slightly as he listened to the tone of his voice. He figured that Dinaka was planning something, but just what was still unknown. "What do you want to know?" Tenchi asked neutrally.

"Do you find them difficult to summon?"

Tenchi shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes it seems impossible, other times it seems like they almost burst out of me."

"I must say, you are quite a fascinating individual. Quite ordinary in appearance and mannerisms, yet apparently able to wield powers no mortal ever has." Dinaka remarked. 

This idle small talk was making Tenchi more and more uncomfortable by the moment. His muscles tensed in anxiety as he tried to retain a stern facade. Even though he knew that Dinaka was dragging things alone merely to create tension and anxiety in him, Tenchi still found himself losing his patience. If he learned one thing from his grandfathers relentless training, it was to always remain patient. _'He who waits for nothing, will have nothing waiting for him.'_ was one particular quote that Katsuhito was fond of.

"You know Tenchi, I would love to see a demonstration of your abilities." As Dinaka said this, a hole opened up in the roof, from which lowered a moniter.

Tenchi's eyes were fixed upon the blank screen on the monitor, and he barely registered the comment made by Dinaka. _What is he planning?_ Tenchi pondered with frustration.

"I suppose you'd like see how your friend is doing, wouldn't you?" 

Tenchi's heart rate accelerated at the thought of seeing what condition Ryoko was in. He silently prayed for her well being while nodding his head silenty in response to Dinaka's query. After what seemed like ages, the screen flickered once before it displayed an image which sent Tenchi into a state of fury and sickness. The normally vibrant Ryoko, full of energy and life, was now hanging like dead weight in the grip of those metallic shackles. Almost half of her dress was saturated in blood, her blood, from what looked to be a wound on her left wrist, which was now absent one gem.

"You bastard." Tenchi seethed.

He could tell she was alive by the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, but she still looked so frail and weak. She looked nothing like the proud space pirate who would charge into danger without a care. Now she looked like a mere ghost of that woman, and he felt it was an affront to her very nature. These thoughts sparked a boiling anger within him that was bubbling to the surface rapidly.

Dinaka's voice was full of an arrogant mirth as he said, "As you can see Tenchi, she's resting at the moment. But perhaps we should wake her? Oh yes, I think that's a splendid idea..."

There was something in his voice that chilled Tenchi to his very core. "What are you going to do?" he asked nervously.

"Do you know what happens when someone is electrocuted? It's like having your every nerve being put onto a searing hot frying pan. The brain, it begins to cook inside the skull, eventually all the neural connections are annhiliated, and all that remains is a blistering mush." he speaking was slow and methodical, his every word meant to strike a chord within the captive young man.

Tenchi's face became pale as he listened to the speech. "Don't hurt her." he muttered quickly.

A short chuckle was what he received in reply. "As I have stated before...you are in no position to make any demands."

Tenchi narrowed his eyes. "It's not a demand, it's a request. Listen, just let her go, you can keep me here if you want. I can tell it's me you want, so there's no need to involve Ryoko anymore!" he insisted.

"On the contrary boy, on the contrary." And with that, a sudden surge of electricity jolted through the comatose form of Ryoko. Tenchi's heart seemed to leap into his throat as he watched the lithe woman convulse about erratically. Her eyes snapped open, her mouth opened up in a silent expression of sheer pain.

Wincing, Tenchi was feeling panic build within him. "What do you want from me?!" he shouted.

"Show me your true potential!" Dinaka demanded.

_My true potential?! What is he talking about?_ Tenchi wondered in a frantic fashion as he watched Ryoko being tortured before his very eyes. _The light hawk wings, he means the light hawk wings._ he quickly realized. Feeling he had no choice, he tried to search within his very soul for the power hidden deep inside...yet he couldn't find it, couldn't grasp it. Ryoko now began to scream, more like howl, in total agony, her voice slicing to his core.

Gritting his teeth, Tenchi squeezed his eyes shut while desperately attempting to summon forth the wings. But all his mind could see was Ryoko's tortured form, her body writhing due to the electric currents running through it. And her scream, her scream dominated his senses like nothing else, it cut his soul in two and rendered him a total wreck.

"STOP IT!" Tenchi screamed while snapping his eyes open.

"Show me the wings!" Dinaka demanded.

Tenchi panted as the sweat poured down his face, his mind froze, his heart beat faster and faster as the dread built up to a nauseating level. "I CAN'T DO IT!" he shouted in defeat, tears now threatening to fall as he watched the relentless torture continue.

Yet any hopes he held that Dinaka would halt Ryoko's torment were dashed as he watched the crackling energy currents seem to burn even brighter. By now her eyes had rolled into the back of her head, only the whites were visible now as her blood curdling scream continued.

"Summon the wings or she dies." Dinaka stated coldly.

Tears finally spilled forth over Tenchi's cheeks as he watched his friends torment with utter helplessness. _I can't do it! I can't do it! Why can't I feel the wings?! What's wrong with me?! Tsunami, please, someone, help me..._ Moment after moment passed, each second that ticked by was another lifetime of misery. Eventually, Ryoko's screams ceased, her mouth hung open as a thin stream of blood oozed out of its corner.

"Please, stop it." Tenchi pleaded tiredly.The now silent Ryoko twitched and spasmed more as the electrocution continued on unabated by Tenchi's plea's. Finally, the energy currents were brought to a halt, Ryoko's body still convulsing a bit in the aftermath. 

"What a pity, she's dead." Dinaka announced plainly.

Ryoko...

...dead.

The words were like an endless amount of daggers hurled into Tenchi's heart. It was just too much to accept, too much to handle. Waves of numbing pain washed throughout him as his stunned mind tried to compute this simple fact. Disbelief was the reigning emotion in the forefront of his mind. The thought that Ryoko could actually be dead, that she was gone forever, was just too much of a shock.

He'd never again see her soaring through the sky, never see her drink another bottle of sake, never feel her arms wrap around him again as she whispered hotly into his ear, never hear her laugh as she played another prank. It was unreal, the notion that something that seemed like such a constant in his life would be gone. The pain became too much as he lowered his head and sobbed silently.

"Where were your mighty light hawk wings? I thought you'd do more to save someone you supposedly cared about." Dinaka taunted. Tenchi's misery only compounded as his mind swirled with new grief and suffering._Gods, he's right. If I had summoned the wings, maybe I could have saved her. But instead I failed her...I'm so sorry Ryoko._

Elsewhere...

"What are you doing here? Can't you see I'm busy right now?" Dinaka shouted to an underling.

The frightened youth read a small piece of paper with shaking hands. "S-sir, the M'kha are closing in on the planet, the chairman requests your immediate presence in the conference room." he stammered.

Glancing back at the viewing screen which displayed the mournful figure of Tenchi, Dinaka let out a frustrated sigh. "I suppose this interrogation can commence another time." he muttered before quickly stepping outside the control room.

  


***

  


Amidst massive machines whose functions served purposes few would know, one lone person sat in a little clearing. Her flaming red hair was disheveled, which was an accurate reflection of the inner pains Washu was going through. Seated atop her plush cushion, she robotically tapped away on numerous computer consoles, her bleary eyes darting back and forth between different monitors. Reaching over, she grabbed at a tea cup and took a sip, only to cringe in distaste upon discovering it was cold. 

With a tired sigh, she rubbed her eyes, doing her best to ignore her stomachs rumblings. She had lost track of the last time she had eaten, but she had no plans to stop her work now for such luxuries as food. There was another gnawing pain besides the hunger, a pain which refused to go away, and compelled her to press herself further and further into researching how to try and rescue Ryoko and Tenchi. While the forefront of her mind attempted to declare this a purely scientific problem in need of a solution, her heart knew differently. 

Despite all her efforts at maintaining a strictly scientific way of dealing with lifes problems, she found herself letting raw emotion guide her more and more. As hard as she tried, she couldn't escape all the pent up emotions she had regarding Ryoko. Washu remember long buried memories of all the days she spent merely sitting there next to Ryoko's incubator tank, just marveling in the feel of their link and wanting to be as close as possible to her daughter.

Yet the harsh events that had occurred had changed the both of them in many ways. And though her pride did its best to rationalize her behavior towards Ryoko, she knew deep down that she had done shameful things to her. It was the thought of never getting a chance to make up for it that pushed Washu forward. But inwardly she wondered if she wasn't battling for a lost cause. She found herself becoming frustrated and agitated at every turn in her research, and she felt hope dimming by the hour.

Leaning back in her chair, she closed her eyes and let out a tired sigh. _There must be something, maybe some obscure research paper somewhere with some little clue that could help me._ she told herself. _Wait a second, a research paper... _Almost leaping back to the keypad in front of her, Washu furiously typed in a series of search commands. When the results came back, she eagerly opened up the document file she was looking for, her eyes hungrily devouring its contents. As she finished, her lips curved upward in a wide smile. The data gleamed from the report filled in some little gaps that had been plaguing Washu, but now the puzzle was finally solved it seemed. Running her diagnostics program to see if her updated figures were accurate, she nearly jumped for joy as she watched it confirm her hopes.

She burst out laughing when she noted the absolute irony of the situation. _Who would've thought an old research paper by Kagato on spacial warping due to Pulsar bombs would end up containing the key that could save Ryoko. I bet that son of a bitch would be furious if he knew such a thing._ she smugly thought while brushing off her clothes and heading towards the labs exit.

Onboard the battered galaxy police vessel Yukinojo, the ships residents began what was to be another long and arduous day. Sasami somberly steamed some rice while letting a batch of tea steep. The usually merry little girl was a shadow of her normal self, as a severe lack of sleep was taking its toll upon her. Slowly, the others onboard began to filter into the tiny kitchen and seat themselves for the days first meal.

A sullen and baggy eyed Ayeka sat down and awaited another meal which she would probably not be able to finish. Mihoshi stumbled in a moment later, slumping down on the mat set down on the floor. Just before Sasami was about to serve everyone's tea, a series of footsteps were heard rapidly approaching. All eyes turned towards the door as Washu burst in as fast as she could.

"I've done it, I've found a way to reopen the wormhole and attempt a rescue." Her eyes gleamed with utter triumph as she spoke.

Everyones spirits soared upon hearing her words, and Washu was quickly embraced by a teary eyed Sasami who thanked her. Ayeka sprung to her feet, determination etched onto her features. "When can we leave?" she asked seriously.

Still patting the joyous Sasami on the back, Washu looked up at the violet haired princess. "I've got a small craft in my lab we can take, it should manage to handle the pressures that will be near the black hole. Now I want you Mihoshi to stay behind with Sasami onboard this ship. We don't know how dangerous things might get, and it'd be best if you stayed in a safer location."

Mihoshi arched her back and saluted Washu. "Right you are, I'll keep things running here on Yukinojo."

Gently prying Sasami from her, Washu silently motioned for Ayeka to follow her. Sasami tugged on the arm of Ayeka's kimono. "Please be careful."

Ayeka knelt down and embraced her little sister warmly for a moment before nodding her head and following the red haired scientist out of the kitchen. Just as they left the room, Washu turned her head to look over her shoulder. "You better bring Tenchi-ken with you. We might end up needing it." she solemnly stated. Ayeka quickly complied and retrieved the item in question before heading into Washu's inter-dimensional laboratory. Once inside, the two marched silently towards the proper level which housed the vessel they'd be using.

"You know, there's a chance this is all for nothing, and that they may be dead." Washu said seriously.

Ayeka tried to swallow a growing lump in her throat after hearing those words. "I know." she somberly replied.

The little genius picked up a grey suitcase which appeared rather hefty and headed towards the sleek round spacecraft set upon a small pedistal. "What's in that suitcase?" Ayeka inquired curiously.

Washu smirked devilishly. "Just a little firepower in case things get rough." The crowned princess matched her smirk as she got herself seated in the spaceship. Washu may be eccentric and difficult sometimes, but in a time of crisis she was always someone you'd want on your side.

Washu rapidly punched in a few keys. "Ok, let me just open up the inter-dimensional pathway here, and we should be on our way through that little wormhole. Once we get within 0.25 parsecs, I'll pop on the spacial deformation inducer that should make things smooth sailing."

Ten minutes later...

"I thought you said this would be smooth sailing?!" Ayeka shouted with tremendous difficultly as she was plastered to her seat by the incredible gravitational forces being exerted on the ship.

"Hey! At least we haven't been totally crushed and stretched out."

"Not yet." Ayeka mumbled under her breath.

Unable to even sit up in her chair to get a closer look at her computer console, Washu strained to make out the readings on the screen. "Ok, I'm pretty sure we should be exiting this wormhole in..." Suddenly the g-force reduced dramatically as the two began to breathe easier. "...now." she finished.

"Are they here? Can you detect them?" the princess excitedly asked.

The little genius waved her hand about to quiet down the violet haired girl. "Hold on a sec, I'm trying to find out...alright, I detect a planet nearby, looks to be habitable as well."

Ayeka breathed a sigh of relief, as it seemed that if Tenchi and Ryoko survived the wormhole, they'd at least have a place to stay at. As she was about to make a further inquiry about the planet, Ayeka noticed the pale look on Washu's face. "What is it?"

"Holy shit, I'm detecting about 650 spaceships around the planet. It looks like there's some kind of major battle going on." the red head shouted. Rubbing her forehead, Ayeka could only sigh in defeat. _As if things weren't bad enough._

"No problem though, this little beauty of mine should slip right through undetected. Once on the surface, I start my tracking program and we should be picking up their energy signals in no time." Washu said reassuringly. Though despite her optimistic words, the diminutive genius was far more concerned about another matter. _I still can't establish my mental link with Ryoko. It's possible something is blocking it, but still..._ she mulled silently.

It was only a short time later that the tiny ship designed by Washu managed to snake through those mystery crafts sensors and entered into a low planetary orbit. Furiously typing up a storm, Washu examined the data that poured in. "Alright, we've got a small window of time here before those goons spot us, and I got a feeling if they do that they'll be less than friendly. Now I'm picking up an energy signal deep within the planet that matches Tenchi's."

"Thank Tsunami." Ayeka said with great relief.

"No sign of Ryoko though." Washu added quietly.

The purple haired woman frowned a bit as a silent fear crept throughout her. Any further questions she may have asked were interrupted as Washu snapped on a more energetic persona. "We know where he's at, so let's get down there as fast as we can!"

Quickly swinging the ship down to the planets surface, the duo emerged and quickly raced through the tree's and underbrush towards a metallic structure which was assumed to house the entryway down into the underground complex. Washu casually strode towards the imposing structure seemingly without a care in the world, Ayeka was a little concerned as her head darted around to see if any trouble was approaching. They got within 50 yards before a swarm of uniformed men sprung up from the surrounding bushes and shrubs.

"Halt immediately!" one shouted.

Ayeka gulped loudly. "What now?" she whispered to her smaller companion.

Washu restrained a chuckle before answering, "Close your eyes, tightly."

The princess did so with some confusion, and it was a moment later that she heard some loud shouts of pain and discomfort from the surrounding soldiers. With a forceful tug on her arm, Ayeka was led running towards the entrance to the large building.

"What happened?"

"Just a little hyper-flare I detonated, they should be blinded for a little while. Now let's set this little baby here on the door and watch it work some magic." Washu said while slapping a tiny circular disk upon the doorway. Expecting some sort of explosion, Ayeka looked for some cover to hide behind. However, the red haired girl clearing her throat broke her thoughts. "It's unlocked now." she said plainly before pressing a green button that caused the massive doors to slide open.

"What'd you expect, some Startica fireworks or something?" Washu asked when she saw the look on Ayeka's face.

Once inside, the pair quickly looked around for any other security officials in the area. The area was large, obviously meant for large vehicles as well as regular persons to travel through. There were tracks and path's leading to several elevators, some quite massive. Finding the hangar curiously empty of any personel, they were about to run towards one of the elevators down when Washu suddenly halted in her tracks and grabbed Ayeka's arm.

"Wha..." Ayeka began, but was silenced by Washu shushing her.

Quickly grabbing her arm, the little genius yanked Ayeka near a small vent on the wall. Summoning a small energy knife, Washu cut out a section before dropping to her knee's and crawling inside. "Come on! More of them are on their way up here."

Following Washu's command, Ayeka begrudgingly followed suit and crawled inside the cramped air vent. It was only a moment later that the rapid rushing of a large amount of footsteps were heard outside. After a tense moment, much to the pairs relief, the footsteps were heard moving off into the distance.

"That was a little too close for my comfort." Ayeka muttered.

"I've got a dampening field on our energy signals just in case they can detect us. Now, according to my analysis, Tenchi is about...19 levels underground." Washu said thoughtfully.

"We have to crawl 19 levels down?!" Ayeka shrieked in disbelief.

"Quiet down! Now, do you want to rescue Tenchi or not?" Washu asked in a whisper. Nodding her head with a serious expression, Ayeka quietly followed the pint sized genius through the musty air ducts.

It was only a moment later did the entire complex get rocked by a massive jolt. "What was that?" Ayeka nervously asked while listen carefully for any signs of a collapse.

"I guess that fleet of ships we saw heading towards this planet finally arrived." Washu said non-chalantly.

_As if having to fight our way to rescue Tenchi wasn't enough. _Ayeka mulled. Squeezing tightly between the thin metal tubing, the duo made the long and difficult journey down the dank and moldy air ducts. Stopping at an intersection, Washu once more summoned forth her trusty holo-top computer and darted her eyes over the readouts. "I'm getting a lock on Tenchi's signal, it's pretty close. Let's take this path here to the right, he should be in that area." Another loud rumble echoed throughout the complex as it shook from the force of yet another attack.

Nodding nervously, the now dirt covered princess pressed forward, finding her heart beating in fearful anticipation of what they might find. Deeper in the recesses of her mind, she also worried for the safety of her cyan haired rival. Washu's quiet remark about not being able to find Ryoko's energy signal wasn't very encouraging. _What am I thinking? I'm sure Ryoko is just fine. I may not like to admit it, but her strength and resiliency are nearly unmatched._ Her reassurances did momentarily quell her fears as they crawled through the ventilation ductwork.

Finally arriving at a small grate, Washu stealthily cut away the metal bars and quietly pushed them through. Poking her head out into the pitch black room, the little genius cautiously surmised that Tenchi was alone. With another few taps on her keyboard, a small lantern tumbled out of a sub-space opening. Motioning to Ayeka that the coast was clear, Washu crawled out and joyously sprung to her feet, glad to be out of that cramped tubing.

As the red haired girl flipped on her plasma-lantern, the entire cell lit up with a soft glow that perfectly illuminated the filthy state the prison was in. "Tenchi! Are you alright?!" Ayeka shouted her question while scurrying over towards the shackled boy.

She almost fell over as another blast rocked the complex, but she quickly composed herself to attend to Tenchi. Scanning his form for any obvious wounds, Ayeka noted with great relief that he seemed to be in relatively good shape. While Washu did some preliminary scans on the bonds that held Tenchi, and checked for any booby traps in the region, Ayeka slowly began to calm her racing heart.

"Don't worry Tenchi, everything is going to alright now." the princess stated with confidence.

In response to her comment, Tenchi lifted up his head and for the first time, Ayeka got to look at his tear-streaked face. "It's not alright. Ryoko, she's..." he was unable to bring himself to finish the sentence.

Washu halted her work and slowly looked up at the young man bound to the wall. "What's wrong with Ryoko?" she asked softly, trying to keep her voice neutral.

Almost losing his composure, he sucked in his breath and closed his eyes. "She's dead." he said barely above a whisper.

Ayeka gasped with disbelief while Washu's face flinched of its own accord. The red haired genius let a blank expression move across her features as a numbness struck her. Ayeka shook her head. "No, there must be some mistake." she muttered.

"That would explain why I was unable to detect her energy signal or use our link." she said in a very emotionless manner.

Ayeka was about to launch into a tirade at seeing how calmly Washu seemed to be taking things. However, she stopped herself upon seeing the glint of unshed tears building up in Washu's eyes. Ayeka knew Washu's seemingly cold exterior was merely attempting to mask the inner turmoil that was raging within.

Before any further words could be spoken or any more tears could be shed, the thudding of approaching footsteps caught everyones attention. Realizing that they themselves may lose their lives if they didn't compose themselves, both Ayeka and Washu sprung into action. Ayeka quickly brought forth Tenchi-ken and concentrated her energies, and it only took a second before the blue blade crackled into existence. Swiping at the metallic bonds that held Tenchi captive, the princess made quick work of the shackles as she helped Tenchi from falling over.

Slipping the hilt of the ancient Jurai sword into his hands, Ayeka spun around and summoned forth her power logs just as the door to the prison cell crashed forward, revealing a bevy of armed soldiers. Immediately, three of the them were surrounded by her logs which quickly began to shock them into submission. Several of the other soldiers crouched down and prepared to open fire, a fact which was not lost upon Tenchi. With lightning reflexes, the young prince lept forward and called forth the blade of Tenchi-ken while swooping into action. Fueled by a rage yet led by years of training, he maneuvered the blade with a sort of precision that would've made Yosho proud. In what seemed like an effortless display, Tenchi managed to deflect a volley of energy shots fired from the soldiers rifles.

Before even a look of shock could befall these armed men however, a bright light burst into existence, temporarily blinding all in the room. As the smoke cleared, Tenchi and Ayeka saw the burnt and tattered remains of the soldiers sprawled out on the ground. Both sets of eyes looked towards Washu, who stood with a large cannon set atop her shoulder, her face betraying a look of sheer rage neither had ever seen before. Quickly however, the pint sized red head adopted her tightly clenched expression of cold neutrality.

"Come on, let's go find Ryoko's body." she said softly, trying conciously now to keep her facial muscles from flinching.

  


***

  


The disheartened and disheveled trio made their way down a now darkened corridor as yet more rumblings shook the underground city. It was apparent that not much effort was being made to stop the three of them due to the far more massive attack taking place on the surface.

Motioning towards a sturdy looking door on the side of the hallway, Washu slammed a silver metallic disk onto it and waited a moment before it decrypted it's locking code. Once it was finished, Washu practically kicked the door down and marched inside the pitch black darkness. As she lit up her lantern once more, the horrid sight that was illuminated made everyone's heart lurch.

Before them was the still shackled body of Ryoko, her dress still stained with blood and her body now stinking of singed hair and flesh. Ayeka let out a strangled cry before burying her face in Tenchi's chest, the whole scence too overwhelming for her. Her mind had almost refused to believe it when Tenchi had declared that Ryoko was dead, but what she saw was finally driving the truth into her head.

Tenchi gazed mournfully at the limp form of his fallen friend, almost not noticing when Washu strode forward and created an energy saber which sliced through her shackles and sent her body falling to the floor. Yet the dimunutive genius caught her with surprising ease, and then gently set Ryoko's body onto the ground. Summoning her computer, the scientist diligently tapped away at her keypad, not even looking up when Tenchi approached her.

"Is there anything you can do?" Tenchi asked hoarsely.

Washu stared thoughtfully at the lifeless body before her for a moment. "Give Ryoko her gems back."

Without a moments hesitation, Tenchi held the sword out in front of him, and like that night so long ago, he prayed for the remaining gems to return to their rightful owner. Opening his eyes, he saw the shiny red gems embedded onto her right wrist and throat. All eyes were trained upon Ryoko's body, everyone waiting for some sign, no matter how small, that Ryoko would be alright. Yet much to their great sadness, nothing seemed to have happened.

Washu let out a small sigh. "I figured as much would happen." she muttered before resuming her work with an increasing amount of frustration. Tenchi looked back at the body of Ryoko laying before him, and fell to his knee's next to her. _This is all my fault Ryoko. I should've been able to use the light hawk wings, I should've saved you._ He couldn't help but notice that her golden eyes stared blankly ahead, unfixed and lifeless. With a quivering hand, he closed her eyelids over those amber eyes which had so often gazed at him with utter affection and love. Feeling the moisture build up in his eyes, he ran his hand over her soft cheek. _She feels so cold. I remember when she would hug me, it would feel like a soft blanket wrapping around me, she was so warm. _Realizing that he was already using terms such as 'used to' in his thoughts of her, the tears finally brimmed over and slid down his cheeks. He didn't even notice when Ayeka laid a hand on his shoulder to offer some comfort, or when Washu let her holo-top fade away.

"I can't do anything. She's dead." Washu stammered out. Her breathing was becoming more and more labored by the second as she realized the hard truth of the situation. Glancing over to her left, she looked at the emotionally shattered visage of Tenchi as he stroked her cheek with an entranced look. She briefly wondered just what was going on in his mind.

The young man in question was indeed deep in thought as Washu had noted. _Ryoko, why did this have to happen to you? Why? WHY?! You deserved more, so much more. You deserved to live a life with a family who loved you, you deserved a chance to live that life in freedom and hapiness. This isn't how it should end...gods, it can't be how this ends!_ A strong hand shaking his shoulder brough Tenchi briefly out of his daze as he looked at Washu's grim face.

"Tenchi, there's nothing we can do. I can summon a portal back inside our ship, we'll bring her with us." she said seriously.

Yet Tenchi's mind barely registered those words, as his eyes once more traveled to Ryoko's lifeless form. Words were spoken around him, but his ears just phased everything away, leaving his mind adrift.

_This can't be how it ends._

_'I can't do anything. She's dead.'_

_She deserved more._

_So much more._

_She deserved a life like that dream I had. She was so happy there, she was radiant with joy._

His mind flashed through images, from that dream of a paradise life he and Ryoko shared. Yet only a moment later did images from the other odd dreams that plauged him as of late came to mind unintentionally. The wall cracking, the Sakura blossom dying, the riving pulling him under, the total darkness, the mysterious voice.

_'The answers are within.'_

His eyes widened slightly. Someone told him that in one of those dreams. Did those dreams mean something?

_'Only in the darkness, shall hope spring forth.'_

_They must mean something._

_They must be the answers._

Without even realizing what had happened to him. The three marks on his forehead flared brilliantly as the wings of the lighthawk burst into existence. Washu and Ayeka fell backwards in shock as they watched the transfixed young man gaze intensely at the dead woman in front of him.

"What is he doing?" Ayeka whispered in a stunned fashion.

Washu shook her head. "I have no idea."

Elsewhere in the base...

"Sir! The M'kha have breached our defenses on the third floor! I don't think we can..." a young man shouted in distress on a transmission before being cut off.

The tension that existed in the councils conference room was as thick as could be. A growing sense of desperation was now building up among the members of the Jhanel government. One aging man shuffled to his feet and cast an irratated look at the science minister. "I thought you were going to weaponize all that damn power from that...gem. What the hell happened?!"

Balai wiped the sweat off of his forehead while typing away at a computer console. "The energy is more complex than we had anticipated. We are testing a new method..." he paused as his eyes widened. "Gods...I don't believe it." he muttered.

Everyone in the chamber quieted down as they wondered just what has Balai so dumbstruck. After a moment, the science minister shook his head in shock. "This...this can't be real. There's a power reading I'm getting from cell block 12, and it's completely off the charts. I can't even get a solid lock on it, it's as if it's not even really there."

Murmurs were heard throughout the hall as everyone tried to figure out just what this power source might be. "If this is not just some faulty equipment acting up, what could possibly cause this?" one person asked.

Balai shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps...some sort of extra-dimensional being. The sheer magnitude and apparent nature of this energy are absolutely unprecidented."

"Are you saying that this is some sort of god?" someone scoffed.

Balai was silent for a moment before casting an absolutely serious look at the rest of the council. "That's the closest thing I can come up with."

The council erupted into heated discussion immediately, everyone trying to get a word in edgewise. The chairmain motioned furiously for everyone to quiet down. "I want an expeditionary force sent to that area. And patch your computer there into the main security network, I want to get a look and see what this is all about."

Back in Ryoko's cell...

Now flanked by the three lighthawk wings, Tenchi didn't even flinch as they moved inward and passed over him, changing his clothes into a more regal garb. Yet slowly, the old doubts of the young earthling began to bubble once more in his mind. _What am I doing? Do I even know? What are the answers I'm trying to find?_ His eyes softened as he thought of one simple truth that burned brightly inside of him. _I want her back._

Without even sure why he was doing what he was doing, he leaned foreward ever so slowly, until his forehead rested against hers. Closing his eyes, he focused on the touch of his skin upon hers. _I can do this, the answers are within me._ Yet voices of doubt also raged in his head. _You can't do anything, you're no god, you're a pathetic boy who failed her once before._ However, the words spoken by Tsunami long ago pressed him onward. _'Trust in your own power.'_

Yet no matter how much faith he seemed to have, there was the very real logistical problem of figuring out just _what_ to do. His confused, mournful, confident, doubtful mind harkened back to old lessons spoken to him in the past. One particular bit of advice from his grandfather to 'think outside the bounds of what you believe is possible.' kept springing to his mind. This gave him some footing as to where his mind should stand, as he was attempting to do something only the gods were deemed able to do.

_Am I trying to become a god?_

_If I have to do so to bring her back, I will._

The notion would normally seem utterly preposterous, but in this circumstance, any and all ideas were being considered by Tenchi. Still keeping his forehead pressed tightly against hers, he pondered what his next course of action should be. _If all life lives off of one form or another of energy, than perhaps merely injecting some of mine into her will do the trick._ Newly emboldened, he focused on the surging warmth he felt throughout his body due to the light hawk wings. Wrapping his mind around it as best he could, he attempted to will it to flow into Ryoko's body. While such a task seemed easy enough, putting his thoughts into action was far more challenging than it seemed. Finally, he could feel the tingling warmth of power focus more intensely and then almost seem to seep out of him through the point where his forehead touched hers.

Washu and Ayeka gaped at the scene before them, watching as Ryoko's gems began to glow with a soft light, which grew in intensity. Brighter and brighter they glowed, their light eventually becoming almost blinding in its brilliance. After a moment, the flare of red light died down, and Tenchi slowly eased himself away from her body, opening his eyes as he did so. Snapping out of her trance, Washu scanned her computer readouts to see if Tenchi's effort had any apparent effect. Her heart which was momentarily buoyed, sank yet again. "There's no sign of life." she murmured.

Tenchi's serene expression faded, his brow scrunching together in irratation. _It didn't work, I should've known. I'm no god, I can't raise the dead._ he inwardly berated while slumping his shoulders. Moving his hand up to touch her skin once more, he noted that least she was temporarily warmed by the energy influx. _She's not some robot who just needs to be plugged in to work. She's a human being, with a unique soul, which is gone. If I were to revive her, I would need to revive her soul itself, and I don't have a clue how to do that._

Returning his thoughts to the source that had given him the notion of doing this, he pondered his dreams more closely. _That one dream, where I was told that I held the answers, I remember it was very dark. And I also couldn't even feel my body, it was like...nothing I could ever imagine._ He wasn't sure why, but there seemed to be an importance, a very real clue which was within that dream. _Think about it, where is it very dark?_ The first thing that came to mind was the prison cell, when the lights were out. But that didn't seem to fit very well, as it was currently lit up by Washu's plasma-lantern. Staring intently at Ryoko's lifeless form, the answer presented itself to him. _It would be very dark inside of Ryoko's mind right now._ His determination once more firming up, he took a deep breath before tilting forward and resting his head against hers yet again. Washu shook her head sadly at the sight before her. She was touched by Tenchi's resolve to save her daughter, but by now she felt as if it was all a lost cause.

Tenchi was not swayed however by the doubts of those around him or even the little voice of pessimism within him which cried out its protests. Instead, he controlled his breathing pattern very precisely, letting his mind clear away the black sludge of doubt, rage, and sadness which hung around him. _To light the spark of life in her, I need to become one with her._ Why he thought that exactly, he wasn't sure of. All he knew was that it seemed like one of the most simple truths ever.

Becoming 'one' with somebody was a very vague notion, something that didn't escape Tenchi. Relying on a similar method that he used to transfer power into her, he focused his mind as best he could upon not just the power he had, but on his very soul itself. He could almost swear he felt the tendrils of his mind wrap around itself, encompassing his very being, heart and soul. Once he felt he completed that task, he moved his minds attention to the point of contact with Ryoko, and began to psychologically push himself towards that point as hard as he could. At first it seemed as if nothing was happening, but slowly, he felt as if a barrier was giving way, letting him sink into her. The sensation was unlike anything else, he could feel her entire body sliding through him, tickling his every nerve. The closest he could match the feeling to was the sensation that occurred when Ryoko had phased him along with herself through a wall once.

If his ears were listening, he would've surely heard the startled gasp emitted by Washu and Ayeka. The two of them had been worriedly watching Tenchi when suddenly, his entire form began to gain a sort of translusence. His body had taken on the appearance of a ghostly figure before it began to gently sink into Ryoko's body, eventually vanishing entirely within her. Blinking their eyes rapidly, the two of them were frantically attempting to deduce just where Tenchi had gone. Washu scanned the computer readouts while Ayeka quietly called out Tenchi's name. After a moment, the princess turned towards the genius and grabbed her shoulders. "Where has Tenchi gone?!" she asked in a near panic.

Washu shook her head, almost in a daze. "He's here, everything on my computer says that he's right here."

"Why can't I see him then?"

"I...I'm not sure." she winced at the admittance of not knowing something, but continued, "Look for yourself, his energy readout is flaring up like crazy, showing him to be right there." she pointed at the location of Ryoko's body before both of them became very quiet for a moment as they pondered just what occurred.

"Is he...inside of her?" Ayeka asked barely above a whisper.

"That seems to be the only answer I can think of." Washu said just as quietly. Normally, being given the chance to see such amazing occurances would have delighted the scientist. But now, there seemed to be only one thing which could bring joy to Washu, and she knew deep in her heart that only one young man held the key to bringing that about. _I don't know if what you're trying is even possible Tenchi, but I'm praying for you._

Washu's eyes noticed something alarming on her computer, and she snarled at the readouts on her holo-top which showed a contingent of soldiers heading towards the cell. With a few pushes of some buttons, her silver colored suitcase tumbled to the floor. Popping it open, she retrieved two pylons and hurriedly set them by the sides of the doorway. Just then the prison door slid open to reveal a horde of soldiers.

"Intruder! Fire at will!" one of them shouted as the entire group let loose a furious hail of blaster fire.

Yet with a smug smile, Washu stood there unharmed with her arms crossed. The officers blinked in shock for a moment before they attempted to rush in, only to quickly find themselves getting a violent shock as they were repelled from the doorway. Washu cackled madly. "Sorry boys, this is a private party, no outsiders allowed."

  


***

  


Nothingness, complete and total nothingness was all that was around Tenchi as he floated in a black sea of abyss. He could not focus his eyesight for he had no eyes to see with, along with no limbs to move or voice to speak with. It was a strange experience to be totally stripped of all physical elements that comprised him. It was terrifying, yet liberating at the same time. Boundless, yet totally empty as well. But even without physical eyes, he could still 'see' 

_Gods, it's so dark in here. This is even worse than that dream._

The thought that this was all that was left of the once vibrant and energetic Ryoko was greatly depressing. Yet Tenchi knew he would need to clear his mind for the upcoming task at hand. Up to this point, the actions he had taken were relatively simple compared to what he was now trying to do. To revive a persons unique and infinitely complex soul seemed like an impossible feat. Yet Tenchi knew that he had come too far, and there was too much at stake to back out now.

If he had lungs, he would've undertaken some breathing excersizes in order to calm himself, yet his current state didn't allow such a thing. Doing his best to block out the fringe thoughts that hovered around his conciousness, he began a mental dissertation on what the very nature of life is. _What exactly is a soul? Where is it? Is Ryoko's soul existing in some other dimension, and only needing to be lured back into her body? Or is it gone completely?_ That thought was just too chilling for Tenchi to continue contemplating.

He knew deep down that in order to pull this off, he himself would need to do something extraordinary. At the moment he still felt like a young man struggling for answers, yet he knew that he needed to ascend to something greater. Scrolling through his memories of the seemingly endless amount of cryptic parables told to him over his lifespan. Comments that tried to disect the meaning and structure of life and death, comments that could be of some use to Tenchi. _Maybe I'm overcomplicating things, maybe if I break this down into it's most simplistic and abstract form, I can figure this out._

Yet still, his mind was unable to discover the answers he sought. _Ok, let's take a look at all those dreams, they must mean something. First, I was in a field, and there was this wall with cracks in it. What could that mean...maybe it symbolized the walls between me and Ryoko crumbling, like how she opened up that night at the campfire._ Newly emboldened by an apparent connection, he continued his train of thought, _Alright, next there was a Sakura blossom dying. _Immediately, a wave of pain flooded him as he knew full well what that symbolized. _After that there was this river I was getting pulled into. _He assumed that was meant to symbolize his grief after Ryoko's death.

_In the next dream I had, I was in a place like this. Some voice was telling me that the answers were within, and that only hope can come from darkness. I suppose the dream was trying to say that I could bring her back and I needed to get to this place in order to do so. There was one other thing the dream said. 'Find the rhythm' I think it was. What does that mean? Am I supposed to play a song or something? _

Wracking his brain, he grappled with the cryptic words that were haunting him. Frustration heaped upon anger, which was thrown upon guilt and self-pitying, and soon any glimmer of calm was blown in the dust. He wondered briefly if Tsunami ever got as angry as he was now. _Damn it! Why does everything have to be so hard? If these stupid dreams were some messages from the gods, why couldn't they speak in plain Japanese? Why does it have to be this mystical bullshit nobody can figure out? Why can't I have a simple life, where I don't have to save the galaxy or unleash some god-like powers? Why couldn't I sort out my feelings for the girls sooner? Why couldn't I have a life...like that dream with Ryoko, where we had a daughter together._ And with that, his rage fled from him, and was replaced with clarity, yearning, and an overarching sadness. 

_A life where I'd come home and she'd be there waiting for me with a kiss and hug, and she'd talk about how her day went, tell me all about what our little girl did. We'd all share laughs together at the dinner table, and then we'd watch some TV or maybe see the moon rise. After that, Ryoko and I would tuck our daughter into bed and read her a bedtime story, and then just the two of us would relax together on the couch. She'd curl up against me and her hair would brush under my nose. She always smelled terrific, I never got to tell her that, or how soft she felt when she'd gently wrap her arms around me. But I'd be happy with any type of life as long as she's there with me._

Yet the deep seated fear that he'd never get a chance to reveal all these things hung over him like a looming cloud. _I have to do this, I have to...'Find the rhythm', whatever that means. _Almost desperately, he tried to recall any songs or tunes that might hold some clue. The train of thought seemed wrong to him, he knew it wasn't any song. It was a different sort of rhythm which was implied by the dream, something like..._The rhythm of life._ Something clicked at that thought. Excitedly, he pressed onward. _That must be it, I've heard that phrase before. _

Like a flowers petals unfolding, Tenchi's mind began to piece together various lessons and observations gleamed over his lifetime, and the puzzle began to become more and more clear. _All of life is connected somehow, each living thing is like one note or part of some grandiose song. I just have to find the rhythm to Ryoko's life. _Abstract notions and inner feelings were meshing together to form something concrete and plausible. For the first time, he didn't feel like a boy attempting to walk in the footsteps of giants. Now he felt like a caterpillar who had just emerged from a cocoon and was soaring through the skies as a butterfly.Wrapping the focus of his mind inward yet again, his conciousness bathed itself in the power of the light hawk wings, letting it consume all of him. One thing reverberated throughout him, one thing drove him. _Find the rhythm._

Submersing himself in the memories of days gone before, he focused not on sights or events or emotions, but on sounds. The sound of Ryoko's laughter, her sobbing, her shouting, her sweet melodous voice when it was soft and gentle, her sultry whispers. He totally emersed himself within these sounds, letting them fill the void with a seemingly endless barrage of noise which eventually fused into one conglomorate which was totally and purely Ryoko. The noise had taken on a life of it's own, and Tenchi merely was a bystander swept away in it. Yet when it seemed the experience had reached it's zenith, everything halted.

And then there was one word, one word spoken louder than anything else he could ever imagine. Her voice spoke it with such total clarity and yet with an emotion so vivid and real he could swear he could actually touch it and hold it... 

"Tenchi." 

And after she said it, the entire black void exploded in an array of light and sound which rocked Tenchi to his very core.

Even as he was blown away by the floodgate of emotions, sights, and sounds, he felt like shouting out in utter joy. For this montage was without a doubt the very essence of Ryoko herself, and Tenchi could practically feel her glomping onto him. Yet almost as soon as this all began, it seemed like he was slipping away, being carried on a rapidly moving current which flowed to destinations unknown. The tingling power of the light hawk wings began to distort, and he felt his conciousness squeezing out of this plane of existence.

  


***

  


As the underground fortress was shaken by blast after blast, Washu and Ayeka paid these things little attention as their eyes were riveted upon what going on before them. It had been an unknown number of moments since Tenchi had abruptly vanished, and neither one had the foggiest notion of what to do next. And then something happened, something so amazing that their hearts skipped a beat.

After being cold and motionless for several hours now, the body of Ryoko convulsed once before suddenly sucking in a lungfull of air, followed by another one after that. With a gasp, Washu felt the mental link she had shared with Ryoko suddenly spark back to life. The warm sensation of Ryoko's thoughts flooded Washu's mind once more, which almost brought the little scientist to tears of joy. Glancing at her computer readouts, she grinned in disbelief as she saw the steady heartbeat and energy signal of her daughter on the screen.

"Ryoko, she's alive." she whispered.

"Washu, look!" Ayeka shouted while pointing. Looking up, the red haired girl saw a transparent Tenchi phase into view before solidifying before her very eyes. He was slumped over her, his forehead pressed against hers, while his eyes were tightly shut. Both he and Ryoko were panting heavily, and both seemed unconcious at the moment. Yet Tenchi soon lazily opened his eyes, getting used to being able to feel them again.

Despite the fact that he felt as if he had run back to back marathons without having slept in a week, he still managed the energy to lean back and pull Ryoko up into his lap. His gaze was focused solely upon her, his chocolate brown eyes softening upon the sight of her steadily breathing. _I can't believe she's really back. _he thought absently while gently brushing a few stray bangs from her eyes. Ayeka and Washu had a million questions, but neither one had a clue where to even to begin. Besides that, Tenchi seemed so engrossed by staring at the space pirate in his lap, that he most likely wouldn't even hear what they had to ask.

And then Tenchi watched with anticipation and joy as Ryoko fluttered her eyes open. Her golden eyes once more shining with the vibrant energy of life he had become so accustomed to in his life. Immediately, those eyes focused onto him, exhausted yet shining with a thousand emotions.

"Tenchi..." she whispered, unable to even begin to say all the things she wanted.

"Shhh." he said softly while continuing to stroke her hair. Sliding his arms under her, he stood up while holding her in his arms, with his gaze still fixated upon her. "You need to rest now. I promise we'll talk later." he said gently.

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "I'll hold you to that." she said sleepily.

Finally tearing his eyes away from the cyan haired girl in his arms, Tenchi looked up to Washu. "Let's get out of here." he said firmly. 

"Well, we've got a problem, Tenchi. It seems that the people that decided to pay this planet a little visit destroyed our ship." Washu explained.

Tenchi let out a deep sigh. "I can get us out." he declared after a long moment.

"Are you sure? I mean you seemed pretty worn out."

Looking down at the now sleeping space pirate in his arms, Tenchi felt a profound sense of inspiration and confidence overcome him just by looking at her. "I can do it." he assured.

Tenchi turned his head to the side and for the first time, noticed a group of awestruck soldiers standing outside the door, fear evident on their features. A surge of rage burst through his veins, he knew that with the light hawk wings, he could kill them all with ease, to get back at them for what they did. Yet as he felt Ryoko's warm breath upon him as she dozed in his arms, his rage drained from him. Calmly looking up towards one of the ceilings corners, his eyes caught sight of a small black camera situated there.

"Is this what you wanted to see Dinaka? My light hawk wings? You know, it would be so simple for me to destroy this entire base, I could even devastate the entire planet if I wanted to. But I'm not like you, I don't get my pleasure from the suffering of others. Besides, I can see you're getting what was coming to you anyway." he said solemnly just as another blast sent more chunks of the ceiling crumbling to the floor. Washu couldn't help but smile at hearing his response. His gentle nature and lack of bitterness despite hardships were just some of the qualities that drew the plethora of ladies to him.

Snapping back to the moment, she put on a stern face. "Tenchi, we better get a move on! This place is going to cave in at any minute." Washu warned quickly.

Nodding his head, Tenchi shut his eyes and immersed himself within the pool of broiling power that simmered inside of him. He found it far easier now to call forth the light hawk wings at will. His newfound understanding of how the universe worked seemed to help him a great deal. Once the triad of wings shimmered around his body, he opened his eyes and prepared to leave, until he remembered something that he needed to retrieve first. Sending outward his mental sphere of sensory perception, he 'felt' around for the familiar power of Ryoko's gem, the one which was so cruely gutted out of her.

Once his makeshift mental radar caught the faint glow of it, he prayed for it to return to Ryoko. In a matter of seconds, the red gem phased into view, now embedded upon Ryoko's left wrist. Turning back towards the other two girls in the room, he nodded his head to signify his readiness to leave now.

Focusing his power, he moved two of his wings over by Washu and Ayeka, letting their energy wrap around the pair of women securely. After that, he phased everyone outside of the underground base. Despite watching him revive a dead woman, Ayeka and Washu were both surprised by his apparent newfound power. "How did you do that?" Ayeka inquired.

Tenchi shrugged his shoulders. "If you can get yourself in the right frame of mind, it seems almost anything is possible." he said casually.

It was then that Ayeka emitted a yelp of shock as a flurry of energy beams were fired upon her. However, they were to no avail as the light hawk wing shielded her from any harm. The surface was swarming with uniformed soldiers, and the skies were thick with approaching and landing spacecraft. It seemed all of their attention was now being directed at the incredible display of power Tenchi was producing.

Yet even as their battle cruisers let forth volley after volley of attacks on him, Tenchi's face held an absolute calm look on it as he watched their efforts dissolve in front of him. Despite their seemingly safe position, Ayeka was still rather jittery watching as hordes of opaque colored ships fired upon them. The surrounding ground troops encircled Tenchi and the others, obviously assuming that the boy with the light hawk wings was a threat to them.

"We have you surrounded! Give up and surrender!" one commander yelled with false bravado. Tenchi merely floated himself and the other girls off of the ground with ease, ignoring the shouts from below. Though the M'kha forces resumed their fire, it was apparent that they were realizing that their attacks were fruitless.

The violet haired princess looked at Tenchi with wonderment written on her face as he serenely flew the group off of the planet and into space. He still cradled the sleeping Ryoko in his arms, and even though a pang of envy shot through Ayeka, she reasoned that Ryoko deserved such a cozy position given what she had been through. But the princess still couldn't shake the feeling that something occurred down on that planet over the few days they were gone, something which would change all of their lives permanently. Yet Ayeka knew that such thoughts were for another time and place.

Washu spirits were at an all time high. Not only did she have her daughter back, safe and sound, but she also had an up close chance to examine the magnificent power of the light hawk wings. She giddily deduced that it would take months to comb through the data she had collected. Yet as her emerald eyes fell upon the girl sleeping in Tenchi's arms, Washu knew deep down that there was something far more important than science.

The group soared through the heavens, and approached the terrifying sight of a black hole looming ahead. Chunks of matter swirled inward to the abyss, creating a beautiful yet frightening sight at the same time. Washu looked towards Tenchi with a serious look on her face. "Are you going to be able to handle this?"

He nodded his head silently in response. He wasn't sure why he was so confident exactly, afterall he had lost conciousness the last time he traveled through a wormhole. Yet he felt overwhelmingly self assured, certain that he could accomplish this task with ease. As he felt the gravitational pressures build up around him, he pondered some of the lessons he had learned down on that planet. He had learned that ones state of mind was the key to doing anything, and he also learned that one should never take something for granted.

Clutching Ryoko tighter to himself, his heartbeat quickened as he thought about how he wanted to tell her his feelings. He had shut himself off from the world in a sense, afraid to hurt and to be hurt. But as he stared at the woman in his arms, he knew that he had emotionally passed the point of no return, and was finally ready to share himself with her. While it weighed on his heart that Ayeka would be hurt by his choice, he knew that supressing his feelings was now impossible. He wanted nothing more than to give Ryoko the happiness he felt she so richly deserved.

While Washu tapped away non-chalantly at her computer, Ayeka nervously gazed around in awe as they passed through the wormhole. Traveling into the wormhole in Washu's ship was quite a different experiece than floating freely through it as she did now. While there was some pressure being exerted upon her, she felt relatively comfortable. After a brief moment, the group emerged on the other side, awash in swirling debris once more.

Without incident, Tenchi and the others flew through the blinding cloud of matter and eventually emerged in a more clear region. Spotting the shape of Yukinojo ahead of them, Tenchi phased the entire group onboard the galaxy police vessel. Glad to be on solid ground once more, Ayeka let out a sigh of relief just before she spotted Sasami walking into the dining area. The little girl gasped in shock before breaking out into a full fledged run. "Tenchi! Ryoko! You're alright!" she shouted with teary eyes while latching onto Tenchi's side. "I was so worried."

Tenchi chuckled while still keeping Ryoko in his arms. "It's good to see you too Sasami."

Mihoshi then entered the room and gasped at seeing Tenchi and Ryoko once again. Quickly rushing to Tenchi's other side, she too latched onto him and began to cry. "Oh Tenchi I'm so glad you're alright!" she shouted.

Tenchi soon realized his breathing was becoming rather restricted due to the two girls crushing him from both sides. "G-good to see you too Mihoshi." he gasped before Washu and Ayeka pried Sasami and Mihoshi off of him after seeing his distress.

"Tenchi needs to put Ryoko to bed. Follow me into the lab, I need to run a few tests on her to make sure she's alright." Washu declared while trying to keep the emotional girls from re-latching onto Tenchi.

Nodding his head, the young man walked swiftly into Washu's inter-dimensional laboratory. Striding swiftly into it's inner depths, Tenchi and Washu came into a small, well lit area with a metal slab which was surrounded by scanning devices and sensor arrays.

Motioning for Tenchi to set Ryoko down, she rapidly set into action a series of medical devices which hummed to life. Glancing up from her work, Washu looked up at Tenchi. "You should probably get some rest too. All that light hawk wing summoning must be exhausting."

Tenchi shrugged his shoulders, keeping his gaze fixated on Ryoko. "It's weird, my body feels tired, but my mind feels totally alert. It's kinda hard to explain."

Washu tilted her head to the side as she stared intently at him. "Tenchi, what happened back there?" she asked softly.

The young man thought over her question for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't really know. I just...knew I had to do something, and somehow I managed to bring her back. I've learned a lot of things, about myself, about life, about...everything. I think it's going to be awhile before I really can sort through it all."

"Don't tell me you're going to get all philosophical like Katsuhito now." Washu quipped with a grin.

Tenchi chuckled while rubbing his neck. "Don't worry little Washu, I'm not going to be anything like that."

Feeling his stomach growl, he realized just how long it had been since he had a decent meal. "I think I'm going to go now. I haven't had much to eat in awhile."

Nodding her head silently, Washu studied some diagrams and charts on her computers. As Tenchi was just about to leave the sanctuary of her laboratory, he looked over his shoulder at the pint sized scientist. "Take care of her, Washu." he said seriously just before he left.

Washu stared at the now empty space he had occupied a moment earlier. _Don't worry Tenchi. This time, I'll take care of her._

  


***

  


As the chipped and battered Yukinojo made the long trek back towards Earth, the residents onboard enjoyed their first peaceful meal in what seemed like ages. Ryoko slept soundly in Washu's laboratory, and didn't make it for dinner. Tenchi was bombarded with questions about what occurred on the planet he and Ryoko were stranded on, and he did his best to answer the flurry of queries.

Afterwards, as most everyone else turned in to get some much needed sleep, Tenchi sat in the main living area and gazed out the window. Idly watching the stars, lost in thought, he almost didn't notice when Ayeka came and sat beside him.

"Oh, hello Ayeka. I thought you went to bed already."

The princess shook her head. "No, not yet. I thought perhaps I would join you for a moment, is that alright?"

Tenchi nodded his head. "Of course."

After a moment of silence, Ayeka tried to broach the subject that had weighed upon her for some time now. "Tenchi, I...I was wondering if..." she trailed off, unable to discover the appropriate words. After a pause, she let out a sigh. "Did something occur between yourself and Ryoko?" she asked meekly, dreading the response.

Tenchi's eyes widened a bit before a far away look came across his face. "A lot of different things happened down on that planet, Ayeka."

The princess gripped her kimono tightly in her fists, struggling to keep a composed expression. "Are you implying what I think you are?"

Tenchi averted his eyes from her face, instead choosing to fixate on a distant star. "I never wanted to hurt anyone. It's just that I realized a lot of things, and I..." he let out a deep breath, shaking his head. "I'm sorry Ayeka, but I cannot deny my own feelings. It wouldn't be fair to anyone." he finished quietly.

Blinking back a few tears, the princess released her kimono and stood up. A sharp pain lanced through Ayeka'a heart as she breathed shakily. Quickly turning on her heel, she began to walk away. Tenchi hung his head as he inwardly berated his cowardice. _You broke her heart and now you're too chicken to even look her in the face._

"Ayeka, wait." Tenchi said as he stood up and walked over towards her.

Her head was bowed as she tried to avoid his gaze. She stiffened slightly as she felt his arms wrap around her in a comforting embrace.

"I'm sorry you had to get hurt Ayeka, please believe me when I say that. You're a very dear friend to me, and you always will be." he said soothingly.

With a small nod of her head, Ayeka gently pushed away from Tenchi. "While it is good to know that, I...I still..."

"I understand." Tenchi said softly.

"I would like some time alone please." she said quietly before slowly walking towards her bedroom.

With a sigh, Tenchi returned to his seat near the window, contemplating why life had to be so cruel sometimes. _I guess I still have a lot to learn about the universe. _He thought wryly.

In Washu's laboratory...

In what seemed to now be a regular ritual for Ryoko, she opened her eyes only to discover herself in unfamiliar surroundings. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she groggily noted that at least this strangle locale was well lit. Realizing she was no longer shackled, she sat up quickly and looked around, frowning upon her discovery that she was in Washu's laboratory.

"Hello Ryoko, did you get a good rest?" Washu asked in an interested manner.

"Why am I here?" Ryoko asked curtly.

"I asked Tenchi to bring you in so I could run a few simple tests to see if you were alright. You know he was the one who saved you. You had actually died, but he summoned his light hawk wings, and then brought you back somehow."

The cyan haired woman's anger at being in her current location dissapated upon hearing what had occurred. Feeling the all familiar urge to be in Tenchi's presence, she hopped off of her bed and phased into a teal and red dress while fluffing her rumpled hair. Mumbling a 'whatever', she prepared to fly out of the laboratory as fast as possible. However, a recollection of something Tenchi had told her came to mind. Turning around, she placed her hands on her hips while staring intently at Washu. The little genius had her clasped in front of her while she returned the pirates gaze. Washu wanted to say how happy she was that Ryoko was alright, but her foolish pride kept her mouth closed.

Ryoko considered launching into her feelings about her 'mother' right then and there, but decided that she wasn't yet ready, and that she wanted to see Tenchi first. "Washu, I want to talk to you later on. I've got a lot of stuff I want to say, and I want you to listen, is that understood?" Ryoko nearly growled as she finished.

Washu blinked once before nodding her head. Ryoko returned the gesture and floated out of Washu's lab, leaving the diminutive scientist all alone again.

On the Yukinojo...

As Tenchi silently mused on the recent events whicn had occurred, he heard the familiar displacement of matter which signaled Ryoko phasing next to him. She sat in a lotus position on a mat next to Tenchi, her golden eyes fixated upon him.

"Doing a little star gazing?" she asked.

"I guess I'm doing a little thinking as well." he said before turning his eyes towards her. Just seeing her next to him made his heart speed up. She was her normal energetic self, which filled him with hapiness.

She smiled a genuine smile while tilting her head to the side. "I guess I really owe you now, huh? That's three times you've saved me."

He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "It was nothing, really."

She shook her head. "Don't be modest, Washu told me what happened. I don't have a clue how you did what you did, but I'm glad you did it."

Feeling a surge of emotion just by being in her presence, he decided that now was the time to open himself up to her. Cautiously, he placed his hand atop hers, which caused the cyan haired woman's heart to skip a beat. Swallowing loudly, she glanced back and forth between his hand and the intense look on his face. She could see he was obviously struggling to come up with something to say. Finally, he asked, "Do you remember anything from when you were...dead?"

The question caught her off guard. Looking down towards the dusty floor, she shrugged her shoulders. "Not really, I just remember everything kind of fading away." Recalling that experience sent a chill down her spine. Yet her uncomfortable feelings were displaced upon recollection of a buried memory of that period.

"Actually, I think I do remember one thing, right before I woke up. It was really weird, I can't really explain it because I can hardly remember. But I could swear that I could feel you with me, I mean it was like we were joined or something. I guess I'm not making any sense." she finished with a smile.

Tenchi slowly rubbed his hand atop hers. "Actually that makes plenty of sense."

Ryoko was finding it harder and harder to concentrate when she could feel his slightly calloused, yet soothingly warm hand gently stroking her. She wanted to ask a million questions, about what had happened, and why he seemed so attentive to her now. She turned her eyes towards his and gazed intently at him, trying to decipher just what was brewing inside of his mind.

Tenchi let out a long breath and struggled to find the right words to speak to her. "Ryoko, ever since...I mean over these past few..." shaking his head with frustration, he kicked himself inwardly. He could face an army of soldiers without fear but a few simple words had his stomach twisting in knots. He knew that Ryoko wouldn't reject him, but insecure paranoia still broiled within, and looking at those beautiful golden eyes which gazed at him now with concern wasn't helping.

"Is something wrong?" she asked seriously while placing her free hand atop his shoulder.

His mind froze to a paralytic halt as he recycled countless memories of the cyan haired woman in front of him. Seeing her childlike expression as she played hide and seek with Ryo-ohki around the house, the sensation of her soft and curvaceous body curling against him, whispering sensual desires into his ear. Just looking at those full lips of hers made him wonder just how they'd feel pressed up against his. Snapping out of his momentary trance, he knew he had to speak the truth, and from his heart.

"Ryoko, I've come to realize some things lately. I guess it began quite awhile ago, but it wasn't until recently did these things become apparent. Over the past few days, we've spent a lot of time together, and I found myself enjoying your company, and getting to know you better." he paused for a moment to think over his next few words. "I don't know if you know this, but when they...killed you, they made me watch." he took a deep breath while trying to swallow the lump that had grown in his throat.

Ryoko could see how much that memory was hurting Tenchi, and it broke her up to know that he was forced to go through that. After Tenchi composed himself, he continued, "At first, it was just too hard to believe. But as it started to sink in, I just...couldn't handle it. I felt like I had lost a part of myself when you died. The thought of never seeing you again was just too much to bear. And I started to finally realize what you mean to me, and how I never want to lose you again." his voice had lost the earlier anguish and had now taken on a more gentle nature.

Ryoko was frozen with anticipation as she listened to him. To know that he cared for her enough to think like that made her heart race. But she had the soaring hope that his words meant even more, so she waited with baited breath to hear him speak. Tenchi lifted his other hand and with a feathery touch, cupped her cheek in his palm, eliciting a gasp from the cyan haired girl.

"Ryoko, what I'm trying to say is that I'm in love with you. You're the most complex, vibrant, beautiful woman I've ever known, and I'm not going to take you for granted any longer. You deserve to be happy, and I want to be the one..." his speech was cut short by Ryoko's lips pressing against his.

Coherent thought fled from Ryoko's mind the moment she heard the words 'in love with you'. Initially numb with shock, she then felt a dam of pent of emotions burst, which resulting in her grabbing Tenchi and pulling him in for a kiss. She was nearly delerious with happiness as she melted into the moment. Her hands slid around his back while one of his held her head and the other went around her waist, holding her securely against him. Tenchi was now deepening their kiss with ever rising passion, which sent the pair of them reeling with delight. His every nerve tingled with delight, as the one thing which seemed like a fantasy hours ago was now becoming a reality.

_I must have died, this must be heaven. He's kissing me, he's actually kissing me!_ Ryoko chanted over and over mentally as she reveled in the feel of his warm lips against hers. Ryoko moaned as his tounge slipped into her mouth, and she briefly wondered if one of her other dreams would be realized soon, she could smell Tenchi's phermones pouring off of him in waves as she twirled her tounge around his.

Yet no matter how much he may have wanted the kiss to last forever, Tenchi knew that the need for air was now winning out. Reluctantly, he pulled away, though still kept his arms wrapped around her. Opening his eyes, he saw the dreamy look on Ryoko's flushed face as she licked her lips. The sight was so alluring to him that he leaned in again to pick up where they left off. However, their romantic moment was interrupted by a gasp from Mihoshi, who had just entered the room.

"Oh! I didn't...I'm sorry...I...this is so embarrassing!" she stammered before turning around and heading back to her room.

"Well that ruined the moment." Ryoko muttered sadly.

Tenchi nodded his head while releasing her from his embrace, opting to hold both of her hands. Still blushing from their previous activities, he tried to clear his head of his lustful thoughts so he could speak rationally. Yet it was Ryoko who spoke up first. "Tenchi, I can't even _begin_ to tell you what you mean to me. I've loved you for years, and now..." she laughed joyously, her voice as light and magical as a springs breeze. "...and now you've made my dreams come true." she finished softly while leaning forward to kiss him tenderly.

Leaning back, she smirked devilishly. "If I knew I had to get myself killed so you would fall for me, I would've done it sooner." The two of them laughed at her remark before silence fell across the room. Though their was no awkwardness this time, only a quiet comfort, as the both of them were content to be in eachothers company.

Turning around as she leaned back against Tenchi, Ryoko let out a happy sigh as she watched the bright stars floating by them. She purred as Tenchi nuzzled her hair, his strong arms draped around her stomach. She had imagined moments like this, but actually experiencing them was infinitely better than daydreaming. Meanwhile, Tenchi was also contemplating the beauty of the moment, slightly surprised he so easily made the transition from a shy boy who was nervous around women into a young man who now snuggled up with Ryoko. _I lost you once Ryoko, but never again am I letting that happen, never..._

  


***

  


In another location, beyond the reach or comprehension of mere mortals, Tsunami floated in an etheral mist. Normally, she exuded a serene calm, an aura of peace. Yet now, a frown was upon her face, her pink eyes glistened with worry and concern. Closing her eyes, she bowed her head slowly.

"Tenchi, please have the strength to deal with what you have begun." she whispered. Tsunami could only wait now, as doubts of the future plagued her.

  


  


The end

  


Authors notes: Well, there you have it, the end of the fic. I tried for something a bit different and more cerebral, but I probably fell way short. Anyways, you can probably see I left the door open for a sequel, which would cover the budding Tenchi/Ryoko romance, Ryoko and Washu's relationship, and new dangers to face. Though I think I'll be taking a break from this little 'Tenchiverse' and write a few other Tenchi fics.

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  



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